The Trea Turner sweepstakes are getting a little more heated. According to the Atheltic, Dodgers rival San Diego Padres have met with the two-time All-Star twice ahead of the upcoming Winter Meetings in San Diego. Padres writer for the Athletic Dennis Lin announced on Friday.
The Padres have had two in-person meetings with Trea Turner, sources tell me and ?@Ken_Rosenthal?. San Diego appears to have legitimate interest in signing the star shortstop. https://t.co/cr5ndYmYug
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) December 3, 2022
Lin said he is unsure where the two sides met, but there seems to be some interest among the two since this is the second time they met in person.
The teams in on Turner are the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, and the Dodgers (who are possibly last on the list).
The Padres have come in out of nowhere. San Diego drafted Trea in the first round with the 13th overall pick in the 2014 MLB draft. He never played for the Padres as he was sent away to the Washington Nationals in a three-team trade in 2015.
According to the Atheltic’s Ken Rosenthal, Padres general manager A.J. Preller says he “has pretty much coveted [Turner] ever since.”
Trea has been considered by many as the best free agent this off-season in a free-agent class that is loaded with superstars.
The Dodgers have slowly dissipated in the Turner sweepstakes. There has yet to be any traction toward any talks between the Boys in Blue and Trea.
It would be nice to bring back Trea; he had a career year and is only 29 years old, but L.A. might look to spend that money elsewhere.
The Padres and Preller are already paying two guys over $300 million in Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr, but they’ve never been shy in paying superstar talent.
The market is hot for Trea; we’ll see who ends up landing the speedy shortstop.