Trea Turner has been a polarizing figure since he has joined the Phillies. Turner joined on a 11 year, $300 million contract in 2022. Although the shortstop has had success with Philadelphia, he hasn’t quite reached the level of his contract.
Turner often received heavy criticism of his defense, and for good reason. He is -27 in runs saved since joining the Phillies in 2023. ELEVEN runs worse than any other shortstop. He does not look like a big league shortstop all the time. His defensive struggles have hurt a team already defense-deficient.
Even when Turner is producing at the plate the conversation turns its focus to his defense. It’s no secret his defense has to improve. If anyone knows it, it’s Trea Turner. There will always be calls to move Turner to the outfield or Stott to short (I would be fine with both, for the record), but all criticism aside Turner is having a great year for the Phillies.
Unnoticed Offense
It feels that Turner’s offense is falling under the radar for this Phillies lineup. For example, Turner leads the national league in hits with 82 which is good for fourth in all of baseball. If Harper or Schwarber were leading the league in hits we wouldn’t hear the end of it, but for Turner it barely gets brought up. Trea has brought stability to the top of the Phillies lineup.
With inconsistency in the leadoff spot and the injury to Harper, the team needs a constant at the top of the order. Trea has been just that, hitting .303 with a .360 OBP. Out of his 82 hits, 59 have been singles. Once on the bases, Turner has used his speed to cause havoc for opposing pitchers. Trea sits 8th in the league with 19 stolen bases. He has the ability to get on base and immediately put pressure on the opposing team. Although running into outs is never good, Turner should push the envelope even more than usual, especially with Bryce out of the lineup. The Phillies really need to take advantage of his legs because he is the only player on the team that can have a massive impact on the base paths.
Another area not discussed with Turner is his availability. Perhaps one of the reasons the outfield is an enticing position for him. The Phillies shortstop has played in 66 of the 68 games this season. With other positions dealing with injury issues or needing a platoon, the shortstop position is in healthy hands with Turner. In his previous 10 seasons, Turner has only played under 100 games 10 times. Knowing you have an available .300 hitter who can steal a base at any time is huge for a ball club.
Last Thoughts
At times in this town we focus on the bad instead of the good. We focus on the negative instead of the positive. I find this to be the case with Trea Turner. I do agree, he hasn’t played up to his standard but he has been great for the Phillies this year. It feels one error against Milwaukee has changed the narrative to focus on his defense.
This time we need to give credit where it’s due and perhaps outside of Kyle Schwarber, Turner has been the Phillies best offensive weapon by far. It will be important for Harper to get healthy; Bryce does a great job of protecting Trea. The trio of Turner, Harper, and Schwarber will be vital to the Phillies success the rest of the season.
Photo Credit: Bill Streicher/USA TODAY
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