PHILADELPHIA — Justin Turner has won Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award for character, community involvement and philanthropy.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ third baseman was nominated for the award for the fifth time this year.
The Justin Turner Foundation, funded by Turner and wife Kourtney in 2016, supports homeless veterans, children and families battling diseases and illnesses, also helps youth baseball organizations and holds an annual golf tournament that raised $650,000 this year for The Dream Center and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Turner and his wife donated $100,000 to The Dream Center, which supports the homeless and hungry, to fund its foster care intervention program. The center last year renamed its food bank after Turner and his wife.
Turner and his wife donated more than $100,000 for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where he serves on the board of directors, and they provided more than 70,000 toys and 14,000 bicycles to children in Los Angeles. They also visit patients at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, serving as hosts of its Walk and Play LA event, and at Cedars Sinai Hospital. They sent get-well videos to children around the country and serve as honorary hosts for CHLA’s Walk and Play LA event.
The foundation supports AM 570’s Veterans Day Radio-a-thon that aids the Dream Center’s veterans program.
He served as race starter for this year’s LA Marathon, helping raise more than $70,000, and his foundation helped renovate Transition House, a downtown Los Angeles facility for homeless veterans.
A two-time All-Star, Turner would become eligible for free agency after the World Series if the Dodgers decline a $16 million option in favor of a $2 million buyout.
ARBITRATION: Arizona catcher Daulton Varsho was the last of 30 players who made the cutoff for salary arbitration, which was set at 2 years, 128 days of major league service, up from 2 years, 116 days last offseason.
Varsho hit .235 with 27 homers and 74 RBI this year and made $721,700. By becoming eligible for arbitation, he likely will get a salary of more than $2 million rather than about $750,000.
He spent the entire 2022 season in the major leagues after being optioned to Triple-A Reno twice in 2021.
San Francisco infielder Thairo Estrada and Cleveland right-hander reliever James Karinchak tied for the most service time in the so-called Super-2 class at two years, 169 days, just three days shy of three years of major league service.
Others in the Super-2 class include Tampa Bay outfielder Randy Arozarena, Texas first baseman Nathanial Lowe, Los Angeles Dodgers right-handers Brusdar Graterol and Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward and left-hander Patrick Sandoval, Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer and left-hander Kris Bubic, Toronto infielder Santiago Espinal and Philadelphia infielder Edmundo Sosa.
Among those falling short were Los Angeles Angels shortstop Andrew Velazquez (two years, 126 days), Texas Rangers outfielder Nick Solak (two years, 126 days), New York Mets left-hander David Peterson (two years, 125 days), Oakland left-hander A.J. Puk (two years, 124 days) and Philadelphia catcher/pitcher Garrett Stubbs (two years, 120 days).
The top 22% of players by service time with at least two years but less than three are eligible for arbitration as long as they had at least 86 days of service this year. They join the group of three-to-six-year players.
Players and teams are scheduled to exchange proposed salaries on Jan. 13, and hearings for those lacking agreements will be scheduled for Jan. 30 to Feb. 17 in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Players were eligible after two years of service from 1974-85, and the threshold increased to three years in 1986. The super 2 class began in 1991 at 17% and it increased to 22% in 2013.
The super-2 cutoff was as low as 2 years, 115 days in 2019 and as high as 2 years, 146 days in 2011.
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