Dodgers' Justin Turner settling into primary third-base role
Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner has started nine of his team's past 11 games at third base, but though he's settling into a primary role at the position, he said on Monday that he doesn't need the title of primary starter, the Orange County Register reports.
"I just look at our roster and how many good players we have," Turner said. "I want to play every day. But I look at the depth we have. There’s plenty of options for (manager) Donnie (Mattingly). I definitely feel I’m playing more than a quote-unquote role player. But I was playing more than I usually had when he (Juan Uribe) was here. The trade went down and nothing really changed other than I lost the best teammate on the planet."
Mattingly said he still feels he needs to monitor Turner's playing time in order to not overplay him, as too much action leads to knee and hamstring issues.
"I think (Mattingly’s attitude) is more the history of being in New York only playing 60, 70 games for a couple years," Turner said. "Maybe he just feels he needs to be cautious about going too fast from that to playing a lot. I don’t feel like that’s an issue."
Turner picked up a hit, a walk and two runs in Monday's 11-4 win over the Rockies. He has hit .298/.387/.510 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 104 at-bats.
