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Trea Turner out of Wednesday’s Phillies lineup amid slump

Trea Turner has struggled recently. (Grace Del Pizzo/Phillies Nation)

Less than a month after he started for the National League in the All-Star Game, a struggling Trea Turner is out of the lineup for the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday.

Nick Castellanos — who is hitting .297 with an .882 OPS in August — will hit second with Turner out of the lineup.

“I’m just giving him a breather,” manager Rob Thomson said of his decision to give Turner a day off. “Just get him off his feet for a day, and let him spend some more time working on his swing.”

It sounds as though this will just be one game off for Turner, rather than multiple consecutive off days.

If things go well for Castellanos tonight, could Turner potentially be lower than the No. 2 spot in Thursday’s lineup?

“I don’t think so,” Thomson said. “Not yet.

Turner is still hitting .297 with an .805 OPS on the season, so his overall offensive numbers have been strong. But he’s hitting just .168 with 20 strikeouts in the second half of the season.

He also has struggled defensively for the second year in a row, with 13 errors and -9 defensive runs saved at shortstop. This day off appears to be much more related to getting Turner back on track offensively, though.