If Philadelphia Phillies fans are looking for a silver lining in what’s been a disastrous first season in red pinstripes for Trea Turner, it’s that the struggling shortstop certainly hasn’t rested on his laurels after receiving an 11-year/$300 million deal.
Turner didn’t mince words following a crucial defensive miscue on what could have been the game-ending play in the bottom of the 11th inning Wednesday night against the Miami Marlins.
“I’m pretty disappointed. I feel like obviously I’m the reason why we lost that game,” Turner said after what turned out to be a 9-8 loss. “Just, you know, I’m frustrated. But I only know one thing, and that’s just keep working. So that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Apparently, when Turner said that, he wasn’t talking about what he planned to do when he got the park Thursday morning. Instead — according to MLB.com‘s Todd Zolecki — Turner spent more than an hour hitting in the batting cage after the loss yesterday evening. That’s especially notable when you consider that the Phillies and Marlins have a very early start time Thursday for a getaway day at 12:10 p.m. ET.
Obviously, there will be some who wonder why Turner — who has 13 errors and -4 defensive runs saved this season — didn’t elect to immediately spend more time working on his defense at shortstop. We don’t necessarily know that he didn’t also do that, but the answer would probably be that the lights are turned down in the stadium after a game. Players have access to batting cages, so working on hitting late at night with the roof closed and lights turned off at loanDepot Park in Miami is probably much more realistic.
And let’s face it, the Phillies need significantly more at the plate than they’ve received from Turner in 2023. In 2022, Turner slashed .298/.343/.466 with 100 RBIs and an .809 OPS for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his first season with the Phillies, Turner has slashed .237/.291/.370 with 34 RBIs and a .662 OPS. He’s hitting eighth in Thursday’s lineup, which would have been inconceivable at the start of the season.
But while it’s impossible not to be critical of how Turner has performed this season, his struggles certainly haven’t been for a lack of effort. If anything, he’s probably pushed too hard, which is why manager Rob Thomson really wanted Turner to just decompress when he had consecutive days off — the second of which, the Phillies were off — at the end of the last homestand.
In many ways, this is the same conversation that was being had with Nick Castellanos a season ago, so it’s probably wise not to jump to any overarching conclusions about Turner’s time in Philadelphia based off of the first year of an 11-year deal. Because he could very well rebound and be an All-Star in his second year with the Phillies, just as Castellanos was following a disappointing 2022.
For now, all Turner can do is try to work as hard as possible and salvage what’s left of this season. But there is a deeper question here that the Phillies need to consider this offseason: Why have they had stars who had previously changed teams struggle so much to adjust in their first seasons in Philadelphia?
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