Trea Turner might have stayed ...

He mentioned that the day following the 2021 trade deadline, when Dodger Stadium was decorated in the team's signature blue color. He repeated it on Monday while visiting Chavez Ravine for the first time since leaving in the offseason while sporting Philadelphia Phillies red.

Trea Turner would have been open to sticking with the Dodgers for the long term this past winter, despite his Florida background and East Coast preferences, in order to perhaps spend the peak of his career with a dominant team in Los Angeles. Turner admitted, "I would've entertained it." They were unquestionably among my best teams. Instead, the inevitable took place.

The Dodgers basically withdrew from the running for the 29-year-old star when Turner did become a free agent during the winter after failing to make him any official proposals prior to his signing with the Phillies for 11 years and $300 million in early December.

When questioned about the Dodgers' choice to not pursue Turner vigorously throughout the offseason, Turner responded on Monday, "I don't know whether surprise is the correct word. "I spoke with them during spring training the previous year, but it didn't work out. After then, everything was conceivable. It's a company.... Simply put, it didn't work out.

After a 2022 season in which Turner batted.298 with 21 home runs and 100 RBIs despite having his lowest on-base plus slugging percentage in four years, it was evident that Turner's market would be more than what the Dodgers were prepared to pay for him. However, by the time Turner was there, that was the case.

The club didn't make much of an effort to sign him during his free agency as a result. Turner claimed that over the course of a few months, the Dodgers called his camp just seldom. Furthermore, the Dodgers made no formal contract offers before he signed his record-breaking deal with the Phillies, despite the fact that a number of other teams stepped up their bids, most notably a late push from the San Diego Padres.

Even Turner didn't appear to know precisely how he would have acted if the Dodgers had made a full-scale effort to get him back, if the opportunity to transform a lauded season and a half with the team into something much more presented itself. Turner was sitting in the opposing dugout at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

It wouldn't have been an easy no, though, given all the happy memories he had of the group and the gentle smile he wore as he reflected on his time with the Dodgers.

He mentioned the Padres' interest in him by saying, "I entertained one West Coast team." "I would have entertained another without a doubt, especially for someone I liked playing for and knew. Although it didn't work out, I would have given it some thought.