Justin Turner's extended flirtation with free agency ended where it began — with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Along the way, the third baseman had doubts about whether he would return to his hometown team and wondered if his mask-less appearance on the field to celebrate the Dodgers' World Series championship would hurt him.
Turner got yanked from the clinching Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth inning last October after testing positive for the coronavirus.
He wasn't initially on the field as his teammates celebrated the franchise's first World Series title since 1988. Instead, Turner was confined to a small room at Globe Life Field in Texas, pained as he watched the hugs and high-fives go on without him.