The Padres Made Trea Turner Insane Offer

According to a report, the San Diego Padres made the largest free agent contract offer ever to shortstop Trea Turner before he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, at $342M. Of course, that is quite likely to be surpassed quickly, based on the latest news on the Aaron Judge sweepstakes.

The Padres offered Trea Turner a contract that would’ve made him the highest paid shortstop in baseball, passing Francisco Lindor’s $341 million

He wanted to be a Phillie

per @Buster_ESPN pic.twitter.com/S2n7Oq8bpq
— Starting 9 (@Starting9) December 6, 2022

The $342M would have represented the largest-ever contract in baseball for a shortstop — by one dollar. The Mets signed Francisco Lindor to a $341M deal after acquiring him from the Cleveland Guardians.

Turner ended up signing for a "mere" $300M with the Phillies, but clearly, he's where he wants to be, back on the East Coast.

Additionally, says ESPN's Buster Olney, that offer by the Padres could say a lot about how far they're willing to go to land one of the front-line shortstops on the market.

The Padres' record-setting offer to Trea Turner says a lot about how aggressive they will be with Bogaerts or another star. https://t.co/JK5HQZFYIm San Diego outbid the Phillies by a staggering amount, but Turner chose Philly.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 6, 2022