Trea Turner continues to show why the Dodgers won the trade
By Kevin Henry
On Sunday, Trea Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers extended his hitting streak to 22 games with a first-inning single. He continues to show exactly why the Dodgers won the trade with the Washington Nationals that brought him and Max Scherzer to southern California last season.
Trea Turner’s hitting streak is just one way he continues to make an impact for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Turner’s 22-game hitting streak is the longest active streak at the plate in Major League Baseball. Prior to Sunday’s game, Turner had batted .333 during his time in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform, going 72-for-216 with 17 doubles and 10 home runs as a part of that run.
His current hitting streak started on September 12, a stretch where he was hitting .383 coming into Sunday’s game. It’s also his second hitting streak of 16 games or more since joining the Dodgers in a trade with the Washington Nationals on July 30, 2021.
In that trade, the Dodgers not only acquired Turner, but also starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who has since left the team to sign a lucrative contract with the New York Mets. However, Turner has become a key piece of the Los Angeles lineup, not only for what he can do at the plate and on the bases (he logged a NL-leading 32 stolen bases last season to go along with his MLB-leading .328 batting average) but also his importance on the field as well (taking over at shortstop with the departure of Corey Seager to the Texas Rangers).
But what did the Dodgers give up to Washington to acquire Turner and Scherzer? Four players in all, including two who were ranked in the top 50 of all prospects at the time (catcher Keibert Ruiz at number 41 and right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray at number 42), as well as right-handed pitcher Gerardo Carrillo and outfielder Donovan Casey.
Currently, the 23-year-old Carrillo is currently at Double-A while the 26-year-old Casey is at Triple-A. Meanwhile, heading into Sunday, Ruiz is slashing .303/.361/.416 in 89 at-bats in a Nationals uniform over the course of two seasons while Gray has posted a 5.54 ERA/5.68 FIP/1.410 WHIP in 13 Washington starts covering 66.2 innings.
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The Dodgers traded for present gains while the Nationals were looking to the future. While nothing is certain for the Dodgers and Turner past this season (he is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2022 campaign), there is little doubt that he should continue to be a key part of the Dodgers trying to make another deep run into the postseason.