3 Dodgers hitters to blame for surprising offensive dip

2. Justin Turner

Whatever you do, don’t look at 37-year-old Justin Turner’s Statcast profile — ahh, too late. Already linked it. Damn, that luck!

Across the board, Turner’s metrics are markedly down, and his age will lead any Dodger fan to question whether the extended miracle of his emergence as a star-level regular has finally wrapped up.

Turner’s counting stats are equally miserable; the venerated veteran has hit just a single homer with a .499 OPS through his first 75 at-bats, and his expected slugging percentage is down nearly 200 points from 2020 (.551 to .367).

The good news? The Dodgers have top prospect Miguel Vargas waiting in the minor-league wings to man the hot corner, whenever Turner is ready to recede into a mentorship role with grace. The bad news? Nobody wants that time to be now. Turner’s supposed to be spry enough to continue leading this nine-man unit for another season until his contract expires and we can all revel in the uncomfortable decision surrounding his team option.

Instead, those who advocated trading him after 2021 or, more ruthless yet, letting him walk after 2020 to an interested team like the Brewers, seem somewhat vindicated. The emotional angle on this whole process won’t allow fans to ever come to a clear-headed conclusion, though, and it would be best for all parties if Turner just started raking again.