Mariners Acquire Justin Turner in Trade with Blue Jays

Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images

July 29, 2024

The Seattle Mariners agreed to a trade on Monday with the Toronto Blue Jays for veteran infielder Justin Turner. Meanwhile, the Mariners are sending outfielder RJ Schreck to Toronto in the deal. Schreck is a ninth-round selection in last year’s draft who was recently promoted to Double-A Arkansas. The Blue Jays are also sending cash in the deal. Turner is still owed $4.3 million on a one-year, $13 million contract. Thus far, the Mariners have been the most active team in this Trade Deadline season with a little over 24 hours remaining before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT cutoff.

Shipping Up to Boston

Justin Turner was pulled from the first game of the Blue Jays’ doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles. He is expected to join the Mariners on Tuesday at Fenway Park, where the club is playing a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox. “They’re in a dogfight,” Turner said of the Mariners to MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. “It will be exciting to go out and be a part of it, to help them make a playoff run. I know the Mariners haven’t won the division in quite some time, so I’m hoping I can be a piece that helps them with that and make a deep run in the playoffs.”

The Mariners are looking for Turner to be an everyday fixture within a lineup that has sorely needed reinforcements. The Mariners already added All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena in the first Deadline blockbuster with the Rays late Thursday night. Turner has a slash line of .257/.351/.373 (.724 OPS). He has six home runs, 17 doubles, and 31 RBI in 348 plate appearances. But, like Arozarena, he’s been even better since June 1, with a slash line of .299/.399/.396 (.794 OPS), worth 134 wRC+ (league average is 100).

Servais’ Thoughts

“I just think, ‘pro’ — this guy’s been around a long time,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “He’s gone through a lot in his career. He’s been on winning teams, a lot of winning teams. So there’s a certain way that winning teams go about things. And I just think not only for what he can do on the field, which I still think he has plenty of left to give there, I think he’ll hopefully give in other areas as well, helping out some of our young guys.”