Justin Turner Injures Ankle In Spring Training Game

For some reason, Terry Collins seemed to peg Justin Turner as the early favorite to fill in for David Wright at third base if Wright should be unavailable at the beginning of the season. This afternoon, though, Turner fielded a ground ball at third base and rolled his ankle.

The injury forced Turner to leave the game, and the Mets are calling it a sprained right ankle. The best-case scenario for the Mets here is obviously that Wright bounces back quickly from his intercostal strain, diagnosed yesterday, and is ready by Opening Day.

If he's not, though, Zach Lutz is the ideal candidate for the job, whether Turner is on the disabled list or not. Lutz has been an outstanding hitter in his minor league career — his .295/.404/.496 slash line last year at Buffalo is a good example — and plays third base. There's simply a lot more potential for Lutz to prove himself a valuable hitter in the big leagues than there is for Turner.