Trea Turner 'waited' for Nationals extension before Dodgers trade

All-Star infielder Trea Turner was open to a possible extension with the Washington Nationals but indicates talks never materialized before he was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at last week's trade deadline.

"I've been pretty honest," Turner said, according to Maria Torres of The Athletic. "I said I would talk about an extension whenever and waited for that to happen, and it didn't happen."

This winter's free-agent class is full of star shortstops like Trevor Story, Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, and Turner's new teammate, Corey Seager. Turner, a free agent after 2022, suggests he was willing to discuss a new deal instead of waiting to see what his peers got on the open market.

The Nationals offered Turner a six-year extension worth around $100 million in March 2020, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported earlier this week.

"We certainly have made and will make a long-term extension offer to both players sometime in the near future," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said this spring, according to Blake Finney of SB Nation.

However, Turner says a new offer never reached him.

"I've been told a lot of things over the last two years and, for me, actions speak louder than words," Turner added, according to Torres.

In seven seasons with the Nationals, he hit .300/.356/.486 with 93 home runs and 192 stolen bases and was a key contributor to the franchise's first World Series championship in 2019.