Ranking the 4 major shortstop contracts given out this offseason

No. 1: Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies: 12 years, $300 million

I am on record in saying that Trea Turner is the best shortstop in baseball. And with the Padres offering a 12-year, $342 million contract to Turner this offseason, it appears that I’m not alone in that belief.

Turner, of course, elected to take less money in Philadelphia, $42 million to be exact. And while having any player on a 12-year contract comes with risk, rival executives and scouts believe that Turner will age better than any of the other shortstops.

Turner, 29, is arguably the most athletic infielder in baseball and should be able to play shortstop for most of his contract, but has the versatility to play other positions. He’s coming off a season in which he hit .298/.343/.466 with 21 home runs, 100 RBI and an .809 OPS. And in 2021, the year in which he was traded to the Dodgers, he hit .328/.375/.536 with 28 home runs, 77 RBI and a .911 OPS.

Yet Turner still was garnering little national attention, prompting one executive to ask before he was traded to the Dodgers in July 2021: “Is Trea Turner the most underrated player in baseball?”

The answer at the time was a resounding yes. Now, with a $300 million contract, all eyes will be on Turner — and I fully expect him to live up to it.