THE ANGEL –
When Padres fans get caught up in barstool arguments over those who escaped, players who left San Diego and thrived on the ways being pursued, two names fly to the forefront of the conversation.
You can count on Anthony Rizzo and, right up the street in a corner of cozy NL West, Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner.
The Padres picked Turner, a North Carolina state star, picking 13th pick in the 2014 draft. Before the Christmas presents were wrapped that year, Turner was caught in the fog of a three-team deal that sent him to the Nationals.
Turner offered an interesting thought and silver lining.
“In hindsight, it’s obviously 20-20,” Turner said, opening Tuesday night’s All-Star game at Dodger Stadium. “You can always go back, but you didn’t know it then. But by trading me, they end up with (colleague shortstop Fernando) Tatis (Jr.). Maybe he won’t get there. Maybe he’s still with the White Sox.
“Everything works for a reason.”
Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts tinkered with thoughts about what might or might not have happened, the kind of conversations that can change the trajectory of multiple franchises.
“It might not have made sense to bring Tatis in at that point,” Betts said, if Turner had ended up in San Diego. “A player can change two or three different positions, formations and much more.”
There’s no guarantee that AJ Preller, the president of the Padres’ baseball operations, wouldn’t have chased Tatis, even with Turner in the herd. He’s wired to seedy talent and later finds out about positional entanglements.
some work Others include Adam Frazier, a second baseman who spilled coffee in a clubhouse while All-Star Jake Cronenworth was anchored at the same position.
However, the Padres have said and shown how much they still think about Turner, even with Tatis’ potential long-term fortune.
Preller told the Union-Tribune last week that Turner, 29, was one of those wish-list changes. The team also made a serious push for gymnast and pitching ace Max Scherzer before the pair landed in Los Angeles.
“At this point you don’t know if it’s going to happen or not,” Turner said. “I still think it’s a little bit rewarding when people keep coming back because it means I’m doing something right. If people (organizations or fans) respect you or even boo you, you are doing something right. It means you either play well against them or they wish you played for the organization.
“It could be a number of things, but I think those things are positives from my point of view.”
To be clear, prospect misfires are an annual occurrence in the unpredictable realm of sorting the major league’s “potential.” Fans rarely take this reality into account with the help of rear-view reassurance in a world where futures markets remain as volatile as tech stocks.
However, when it comes to Turner, it’s interesting to gnaw at what could have been.
“This is the game. You take risks. You’re taking risks,” said Joe Musgrove, the Padres’ All-Star arm. “You do what you think is right and it doesn’t always pay off. But sometimes you get the right prospect, like we did with Tati.”
Meanwhile, Turner’s star is rising. He finished seventh in MVP voting during the pandemic-shortened 2020 and fifth in 2021. Vegas odds position him in much the same spot this season.
As he ponders it all, Turner still speaks of a certain fondness for the place where his professional journey began – if only for a short time.
“I remember going to the stadium right after I got drafted,” Turner said of Petco Park. “It’s a beautiful stadium. I liked being there. I remember being treated well. Even after I was traded, the (Single-A) staff I had (then TinCaps hitting coach) Morgan Burkhart, these guys worked with me and helped me as much as anyone else.
“I remember not feeling like I was out even though I was traded. I really appreciated that. I will never forget that.”
Interest is flattering, even as flames continue to fan within departments.
“They have some good talent over there,” Turner said. “They are a good organization. They have won. I mean yeah it’s nice to hear but I guess it is what it is. I think it worked out best for everyone.”
So Turner moves forward instead of looking backwards.
“I just have to keep my head down, keep working, keep trying to grow,” he said. “Hopefully by the end of my career people will respect how I played and what I did.”
Will the retrospective reasoning of Turner, Musgrove, and others stifle these barstool debates?
What do you think?
Comments are closed.