Justin Turner began the 2021 season batting .305 with 29 homers, 50 RBI, and a 1.088 OPS over 84 games. Then he was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the second time, and it appeared as if the Dodgers made a brilliant move in signing him to a 2-year deal with a team option in the previous offseason.
Then the second half happened.
Turner's production dropped as the season resumed. He remained healthy throughout the majority of the year, playing in 151 games. However, his batting average fell from .305 to .241 and his on-base percentage dropped by more than 70 points during 67 second-half games. Then things completely stalled in October and the veteran had only 4 hits in 34 at-bats with the lone RBI coming in on a solo home run before suffering a hamstring injury in the NLCS that ended his season.
Overall, the Dodgers had a respectable season from Turner in his first year of that two-year $34 million contract, but things are a bit more worrisome below the surface.
In 2021, JT placed 484th out of 557 players in sprint speed (technically he had an incremental uptick from 2020, jumping from 25.4 feet per second to 25.5) while his defense declined with -3 Outs Above Average and -2 Defensive Runs Saved. And he’ll be playing as a 37-year-old in 2022.
To his benefit, it's widely expected that MLB will implement the universal DH for the upcoming season, which will keep his still-above-average bat in the lineup while getting him off his feet more often. However, there aren't many outstanding third-base alternatives on the Dodgers' roster, and that's a problem. Justin Turner took down 1,173.2 of 1,452 innings at the hot corner in 2021. Chris Taylor had the second most with 81 innings. So yeah… a big drop-off.
Zach McKinstry played well at the hot corner over a small sample size, but he'll need to produce with some sort of consistency to stay in the majors. While Edwin Rios will be another option we may see there even though his professional career has never been defined by great defensive play. Plus, he must also show that he can hit major-league pitching after an injury in May ended his 2021 season.
Should Dodgers Replace Justin Turner at Third? How To Get Most From JT Next Season | Dodgers Grades
So, for now, JT remains the best option for the Dodgers at third base and, in the long run, that could be a problem.
More must-reads: