The Blue Jays have reportedly signed Justin Turner to a one-year, $13 million deal with incentives, and BT can’t help but wonder if David Stearns and the Mets are asleep at the wheel this winter.
“What are they doing?” BT said of the Mets, who haven’t added a bat of note this offseason aside from Harrison Bader, a glove-first center fielder with a long injury history.
“The perfect guy for the New York Mets,” BT added of Turner. “He can hit, that solves the DH spot. He can play a little third, which is a little bit of an issue going into the season. He’s a guy who is a great teammate, who all these young kids - just a professional hitter.
“I thought King Cohen could do anything? If they don’t get J.D.
Martinez or [Jorge] Soler…who is your DH on Opening Day? Please tell me you get one of these guys.”
Turner was seen as a clear landing spot for the Mets, who currently have the likes of Mark Vientos and Brett Baty as the bats likely to see the most time at DH. Producer Pete Hoffman wondered if the plan was to keep DH open to use as a means to get the likes of Pete Alonso and Starling Marte a half day off when needed, but BT says, given the team’s clear need for another bat, that strategy would not be inspiring at all.
“That is a small-market, pathetic, loser move,” BT said. “If that’s what they do.”