LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers have a contract offer on the table to retain free-agent third baseman Justin Turner, a major league source has indicated.
The two sides are close to working out the deal, with a source saying that one or two details still need to be ironed out, as well as a medical check, to make it completely official.
Turner, 32, has come into his own after the Dodgers signed the right-handed hitter before the 2014 season. He became a free agent after he was non-tendered by the New York Mets.
Despite offseason microfracture knee surgery, Turner had his best major league season in 2016, batting .275 with a .493 slugging percentage, well above his career mark of .439. Turner easily established career bests in home runs (27), RBIs (90) and doubles (34).
Turner also was a Gold Glove Award finalist at third base.
While no details of a potential contract have been revealed, there is some indication that both sides are fine-tuning the contract language, not always a simple process.
Turner, a Long Beach, California, native, expressed a strong desire to return to the Dodgers following a season that ended with the team's elimination by the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
Turner batted .286 with a .514 slugging percentage in 11 games during this past postseason, with two home runs and eight RBIs. Over the past two years in the playoffs, Turner batted .370 with a .630 slugging percentage and drove in 12 runs.
The Dodgers have not closed the door on the possibility of also acquiring second baseman Brian Dozier from the Minnesota Twins, a source indicated, even after the club agreed to bring back Turner and closer Kenley Jansen.