Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies won the winter war for Turner with an 11-year, $300 million commitment that included $27.27 million payable in 2023. How they do on that?
Well, they’re in the postseason and Turner will start at shortstop, so it has to be judged a success at some level. Still, Turner’s production was ordinary enough that the biggest headline he got was when he took out a newspaper ad apologizing for his poor performance.
The bottom line sounds very much like an average ballplayer: a career low .266 average, a career low .320 on base average, a .459 slugging average that was 25 percentage points below his career average, and modestly negative defensive stats.
It added up to a decent but hardly overwhelming 3.6 WAR and 0.7 Win Probability Added.
Turner’s WAR was fifth best on the team, which sounds decent. The irony is that the Phillies’ No. 2 WAR producer — behind pitcher Zack Wheeler — was Bryson Stott, at 4.1. Do you mean the same Bryson Stott who lost his starting shortstop job when the Phils signed Turner this winter? Yes, that Bryson Stott.
Although Turner’s WAR is at least competent, his relatively modest 0.7 WPA suggests that he was at his best when the pressure was minimal. Transactional grade: C-