The defending National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies added some arms to their bullpen, starting rotation and a few bench players to their roster this offseason. While it was speculated throughout the entire season and leading up to the beginning of the offseason that elite shortstop Trea Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers was going to be joining forces with ex-teammate and friend Bryce Harper, it was still up in the air heading into the MLB Winter Meetings. All of Philly waited with bated breath to see if GM Dave Dombrowski was going to be able to bring the former World Series Champion to Philly. When it was announced, the city went crazy as if the final piece to the offensive puzzle was finally put into place.
Who could blame Phillies fans for believing it? In 160 games last season for the Dodgers, Turner slashed .298/.343/.466. Turner is a player who can put the ball anywhere and hit for power occasionally. In 652 at-bats, Turner had 194 hits, 101 runs, 21 home runs and 100 RBI. Turner also added 27 stolen bases with the old rules intact. With the new rules being in place with the disengagements from the pitcher and the death of the shift, many believed Turner would excel this season and post higher numbers.
We got to see a lot of what Trea Turner was capable of in the World Baseball Classic. Turner ended up slashing .391/.440/1.043. With Turner hitting five home runs, why shouldn’t Phillies fans be excited? Along with J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber, it felt like Philly helped carry the United States on their back in the championship game. Even in spring training, Turner seemed to keep it going.
When the regular season began, however, Trea Turner wasn’t connecting for the Philadelphia Phillies
The season started and Turner was playing okay, but not as confident as he could have been. In 246 at-bats (which lead all MLB players, by the way), Turner is slashing .232/.276/.366 heading into Monday’s action. With 57 hits, 5 home runs, 29 runs and 16 runs batted in. Turner also has eight stolen bases this season. Add in 64 strikeouts this season, he is going to most likely surpass his 131 strikeouts from last season. Batting under .100 with RISP is also unacceptable for a player who mainly hits for contact. At least if Turner was drawing walks, it might be okay, but 15 walks in 57 games is downright embarrassing for player of his caliber.
While there is still plenty of baseball to be played, the Phillies need someone to pick up the production that is currently missing from this roster with the Rhys Hoskins injury. Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott can’t do it all themselves. While Bryce Harper is still trying to find his timing, he needs the rest of the stars on this roster to begin hitting and help carry this team.
Too many times have we seen great starts squandered by this team due to lack of hitting. All the struggles and failures of this team isn’t just on Trea Turner, but being a $300 million man will put the target on your back by the fans. They will absolutely let you hear the boos and chirping when you aren’t performing at the level you should be. At some point, something has to give, but it needs to start with Trea Turner!