Ex-Met Justin Turner May Sign Elsewhere, Soon

Interesting FA to watch: @redturn2. Should sign relatively soon after drawing interest from plenty of teams.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) December 24, 2013

It should come as no surprise, but Justin Turner won't have any trouble finding a job after the Mets chose to non-tender him this winter.  As reported above by Cotillo, multiple teams are interested in his services, despite the Met's ridiculous claims that he didn't hustle. Turner's ability to play multiple infield positions while swinging a respectable bat will quickly find him a spot on the bench somewhere in a part-time role.

Source Reveals Surprise Reason for Justin Turner's Non-Tender

If you had had your fill of baseball news and rumors by dinner time last night, you missed what I happen to considered the biggest news of the day.  Its comes by way of ESPN NY's Adam Rubin who reported the following about Justin Turner via a source within the Mets organization:

Turner's propensity for not running hard irked the front office, which had finally seen enough.

I want to make sure I have this right... The Mets, an organization who let a clubhouse cancer like Jordany Valdespin linger around for what felt like forever, cut a utility infielder and all-around feel good guy for lack of hustle?!? I simply don't buy it.

Turner is not without his critics amongst Mets fans, but I suspect much of that is due to over exposure and an addiction to pieing people.  With the skills of a quality bench player, he has served as Terry Collins' go to guy over the past few years.  Does it make any sense that Collins, a manager that has criticized a player's work ethic (See: Ruben Tejada) in the past, would repetitively turn to Turner over the course of multiple seasons if he had issues with hustling?

What's equally alarming is that the organization has taken to bashing its former players.  You'll recall they criticized RA Dickey soon after his departure last winter.  Its bad business and don't think for a moment that other players won't take notice.  The Mets have enough against them when it comes to recruitment of players, particularly a lack of money and general organization direction, they should know better than to have something like make headlines.

Surprise!! Mets Non-Tender Justin Turner

Last night's non-tender deadline brought with it a pretty big surprise.  The Mets neglected to tender a contract to Justin Turner.  This is the first year Turner would have been eligible for arbitration and would not have been in line for a significant raise of any kind.  Quite frankly, its surprising.

Turner is often is topic of great debate.  Since being plucked off waivers during the 2010 season, Turner has pretty much been a regular on the Mets roster.  A victim of overexposure in my honest opinion, Turner has often found himself as an everyday player on occasion due to injuries over the years.  Over that time, he also became a favorite of manager, Terry Collins.

This move surprises me for a few reasons.  First and foremost, Turner has proven to be the ultimate utility player.  He has played ten or more games at each of the infield positions in each of the last two seasons.  In addition to that, he hits for a decent average. 

I realize that he's replaceable, but for the few hundred thousand the Mets stand to save by making this move I'm just surprised they'd uproot a player who had seemingly found a home.  That said, Turner was a bench player at best next season and beyond and if the Mets need his money elsewhere, so be it.

What You'll Miss While You're Watching Football Today

The Mets continue to limp down the stretch having lost five of their last six and and fifteen of their last twenty-four.  Today, they will send Daisuke Matsuzaka and his 10.95 ERA to the mound in an attempt to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Indians.

On the bright side, the Mets are doing everything in their power to ensure the Yankees are also on the outside looking in when the playoffs begin in a few weeks.  With the help of the Mets, the Cleveland Indians have now won five straight and leapfrogged the Yankees in the AL Wild Card race.

Long story short... Today's lineup features Josh Satin at designated hitter, Anthony Recker behind the dish and Justin Turner at the hot corner.  AKA... enjoy your football and have a beer for us too!