LOS ANGELES — When Padres fans launch into barstool arguments about the ones who got away, players who left San Diego and blossomed in the ways that haunt, two names fly to the front of the conversation.
You can bank on Anthony Rizzo and, right up the road in one corner of the cozy NL West, Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner.
The Padres snapped up Turner, a North Carolina State star, No. 13 overall in the 2014 draft. Before Christmas gifts were wrapped that year, Turner was caught in the blur of a three-team trade that shipped him to the Nationals.
Turner offered an interesting thought and silver lining.
"Hindsight's 20-20, obviously," said Turner, leading into Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium. "You can always go back at things, but at the time you didn't know. But by trading me, they end up with (fellow shortstop Fernando) Tatis (Jr.). Maybe he doesn't come there. Maybe he's still with the White Sox.
"Everything works out for a reason."
Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts tinkered with thoughts of what might or might not have happened, the kinds of conversations that can change the trajectory of multiple franchises.
"It wouldn't have made sense, maybe, to get Tatis at that point," said Betts, if Turner had landed in San Diego. "One player can change two or three different positions, lineups, a lot things."
There's no guarantee A.J. Preller, the Padres' president of baseball operations, would not have chased Tatis even with Turner in the fold. He's wired to run-down talent and figure out positional tangles later.
Some work. Others end up being Adam Frazier, a second baseman who spilled some coffee in a clubhouse with All-Star Jake Cronenworth anchored at the same position.
The Padres have said and shown, however, how much they still think of Turner, even with the potentially long-term windfall of Tatis.
Preller told the Union-Tribune last week Turner, 29, is one of those wish list do-overs. The team also made a serious push for Turner and pitching ace Max Scherzer before the pair landed in Los Angeles.
"At the time, you don't know if it's going to happen or not," Turner said. "I still think it's a little bit rewarding if people keep coming back, because that means I'm doing something right. When people (organizations or fans) respect you or even when they boo you, you're doing something right. It means you're either playing well against them, or they wish you were playing for the organization.
"It could be a number of things, but I think those things are positive from my perspective."
To be clear as crystal, misfiring on prospects is an every-year occurrence in the unpredictable realm of sorting major league "potential." Fans, with the aide of rearview-mirror certainty, rarely consider that reality in a world where futures markets remain as volatile as tech stocks.
When it comes to Turner, though, it's interesting to gnaw on what might have been.
"That's the game. You take risks. You take chances," Padres' All-Star arm Joe Musgrove said. "You do what you think is the right move and it doesn't always pay off. But sometimes you land the right prospect, like we did with Tati."
Meanwhile, Turner's star rises. He finished seventh in MVP voting during pandemic-shortened 2020 and fifth in 2021. Vegas odds position him in nearly the same spot this season.
As he weighs it all, Turner still talks about a certain fondness for the place his professional journey began — if only briefly.
"I remember going to the stadium right after I was drafted," Turner said of Petco Park. "It's a beautiful stadium. I loved being there. I remember being treated well. Even after I got traded, the (Single-A) staff I had, (then-TinCaps hitting coach) Morgan Burkhart, those guys worked with me and helped me as much as anybody.
"I remember not feeling like I was on the outside, even though I was being traded. I appreciated that. That's something I'll never forget."
The interest flatters, even as in-division flames remain fanned.
"They've got some good talent over there," Turner said. "They're a good organization. They've been winning. I mean, yeah, it's nice to hear, but I think it is what it is. I think it worked out best for everybody."
So, Turner moves forward instead of looking behind.
"I've just got to keep my head down, keep working, keep trying to grow," he said. "Hopefully at the end of my career, people respect how I played and what I did."
Will the retrospective reasoning of Turner, Musgrove and others stifle those barstool debates?
What do you think?
