The Phillies may spend the winter sorting out a different kind of roster puzzle: not who can hit, but who can actually hold down a position.
At the trade deadline, Philadelphia blew up its infield alignment to make room for Luis Arraez. Bryson Stott moved to third, Alec Bohm shifted to first, and Bryce Harper went to right field, leaving Trea Turner as the lone fixed point on the dirt.
It was a major shakeup for a two-month rental, and it didn’t pay off. Arraez’s production dipped after the move to Philly, then a left ankle sprain knocked him out of the Wild Card Series roster.
By the time the Phillies played Atlanta in the first round, Stott was back at second and Edmundo Sosa was handling third base.
That group could look dramatically different by 2027. Arraez, Bohm and Sosa are all set to reach free agency, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday he expects Harper to return to the primary first base role, with some occasional outfield work still possible, via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. Dombrowski also said the club wants to use Kyle Schwarber more often at first base, giving manager Don Mattingly more chances to rest Harper at designated hitter.
Turner is still penciled in as the starting shortstop when 2027 begins, but the Phillies were careful not to make that sound permanent, via The Associated Press. “From a defensive perspective, we were very clear.
He knows he has to be better at shortstop,” Dombrowski said. “I told him it’s really mandatory that it’s like that.
… You cannot play shortstop like you did defensively in ’26 going to ’27.”
It’s easy to see why the club is pushing the point. Turner, 33, is coming off the worst season of his career, and the numbers were rough across the board.
He hit .242/.297/.378, all personal lows aside from his 2015 rookie year, when he barely played. The offense still came with 19 homers and more than 100 runs scored, but that came with a strong dose of opportunity, too; the Phillies kept him near the top of the lineup, where he racked up 156 starts and was one of 14 players in the majors to top 700 plate appearances.
The defense was the bigger red flag. Turner matched Miami’s Otto Lopez for the major league lead with 21 errors, finished last among shortstops with -17 Defensive Runs Saved and ranked fifth from the bottom at the position with a -8 mark in Outs Above Average. He did settle in some late, making just one error in September, but the overall body of work was enough to put his future at short in question.
That concern didn’t come out of nowhere. Turner’s defensive trend had already gone in the wrong direction in 2023-24, then he bounced back with a strong 2025 before the drop-off this past season.
His range to the right still played, but the mistakes coming in and up the middle piled up. The speed is still there, and the arm has never been a calling card, so this isn’t about him losing all of his athleticism.
It’s about whether the Phillies can keep living with the errors. If the struggles continue, a midseason move to the outfield isn’t out of the question.
Behind Turner, the shortstop picture is thin. Sosa was the only other player to start there this year.
Aidan Miller, the top prospect, missed almost the entire season after back issues, but he’s healthy again and working in the Arizona Fall League to regain some of the lost reps. He has been at third base so far in the AFL.
Twenty-two-year-old Bryan Rincon also put together a big year in Double-A and is expected to be added to the 40-man roster this winter. The Phillies will likely want him to see Triple-A pitching first, though a midseason call-up remains possible.
Even if Bohm and Arraez are both gone, Philadelphia still has to add at least one infielder from outside the organization. Stott is heading into his final year of arbitration control and remains a strong defensive second baseman.
He can handle either side of the left side of the infield, but second base is where he fits best. Miller could win the third base job out of camp, but the Phillies would still need a better utility answer than Otto Kemp.
All of it fits into a larger problem. Philadelphia’s team defense has been shaky for years, and this past season the club finished 22nd in Outs Above Average and tied the A’s for last in Defensive Runs Saved.
Mattingly called it out right after he was hired as the full-time manager, saying, “Defense is just a premium. It’s an area that I really would like to push,” during a Zoom session this week.
That push is going to have to begin this offseason.
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