It turns out that Justin Turner was just here for a good time, not a long time.
After playing just half a season in the Blue and White, the Toronto Blue Jays have traded him to the Seattle Mariners, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported Monday. The Jays are picking up 24-year-old outfielder RJ Schreck, Seattle’s 29th-ranked prospect, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith reported.
The Mariners will pay the remainder of Turner’s $6.7-million, according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer.
Turner, 39, was pulled from Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles in the bottom of the second, having singled in his first plate appearance of the game.
Despite some hot and cold streaks, Turner was solid for the Blue Jays, slashing .254/.349/.371 for a .720 OPS and 106 OPS+, finishing as one of the better hitters on the team this season. The veteran of 16 years will now be an important piece for a Mariners team that is buying left right and centre, picking up Yimi Garcia from the Jays in a separate deal on Friday, as well as swinging big in grabbing outfielder Randy Arozarena from the Rays.
Shreck, meanwhile, was drafted by the Mariners in the ninth round of the 2023 draft out of Vanderbilt University. The lefty had a huge season with the Commodores in his draft year, slashing .306/.454/.588 for a 1.042 OPS, hitting 14 home runs and driving in 59 runs in 62 games.
He played some rookie ball and low-A last year and has spent the majority of this season in high-A. In 78 games there, he slashed .261/.401/.464 for a .865 OPS, hitting 12 home runs, while walking 57 times and striking out just 47 times across 344 plate appearances.
On July 19th, he was moved up to AA but has struggled in his first eight games there, slashing .143/.294/.250, with four hits and as many walks in 34 plate appearances.
The move is the latest of many for the Blue Jays as they sell, picking up a plethora of prospects, but they likely aren’t done ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, either. All signs point to the team trading Yusei Kikuchi, and they are trying to move Kevin Kiermaier, as well, as indicated by his placement on waivers last week.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.