{"id":119482,"date":"2025-11-11T09:21:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=119482"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:21:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:21:28","slug":"legend-on-the-edge-dodgers-icon-justin-turner-is-at-a-crossroads-weighing-retirement-against-one-final-season-in-2026-that-could-define-his-legacy-every-decision-every-move-and-every-whispered-op","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=119482","title":{"rendered":"LEGEND ON THE EDGE: Dodgers icon Justin Turner is at a crossroads, weighing retirement against one final season in 2026 that could define his legacy. Every decision, every move, and every whispered option has the baseball world on edge, wondering if the clubhouse will feel his presence one last time. The stakes are personal, monumental, and every Dodgers fan\u2014or team strategist\u2014holds their breath..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"<section id=\"article-body\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/library.sportingnews.com\/styles\/crop_style_16_9_desktop_webp\/s3\/2022-11\/_Justin%20Turner110122.jpg.webp?itok=Wzh6FcS9\" alt=\"Dodgers legend Justin Turner makes decision on retirement or playing in 2026 image\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Justin Turner is one of the greatest postseason hitters in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n<p>And although he hasn&#8217;t gotten to show off that swing in Dodger blue the last few seasons, he&#8217;s still a fan favorite in L.A.<\/p>\n<p>That swing, and that red beard, isn&#8217;t done yet.<\/p>\n<p>Turner plans to play again in 2026, according to Jon Morosi.<\/p>\n<p>Later in November, Turner will turn 41. It would be fair for him to retire.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s also coming off a rough season in which he batted just .219 with a .314 slugging percentage with the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n<p>The year prior, he had still batted .259 as he split the season between the Red Sox and Mariners.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Turner&#8217;s chances of landing a contract will depend on whether teams believe his entire downfall was real or if he has room for a bounceback.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, Turner may be best served as a platoon bat.<\/p>\n<p>He was an above average hitter against left-handed pitching in 2025, with a .276 average and .429 slugging..<\/p>\n<p>He had a nightmare .141\/.232\/.155 triple-slash line against righties.<\/p>\n<p>Turner will likely get a small one-year deal and have to prove himself in the spring to get regular at bats when the new season gets underway.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JT wants to keep playing ball.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":119483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>LEGEND ON THE EDGE: Dodgers icon Justin Turner is at a crossroads, weighing retirement against one final season in 2026 that could define his legacy. Every decision, every move, and every whispered option has the baseball world on edge, wondering if the clubhouse will feel his presence one last time. The stakes are personal, monumental, and every Dodgers fan\u2014or team strategist\u2014holds their breath..ll - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=119482\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LEGEND ON THE EDGE: Dodgers icon Justin Turner is at a crossroads, weighing retirement against one final season in 2026 that could define his legacy. Every decision, every move, and every whispered option has the baseball world on edge, wondering if the clubhouse will feel his presence one last time. 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