The Phillies have found some traction at exactly the right time, but one of their biggest names is still stuck in neutral.
While Philadelphia has been stabilizing the back end of its rotation with Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter, and while the lineup has started producing more consistently in August despite not piling up home runs, Trea Turner has become the glaring issue that keeps hanging over the group. After a brief stretch in July that suggested he might be turning the corner, August has been another rough month for the veteran shortstop.
Through 22 games and 101 plate appearances, Turner is hitting .198/.267/.275 with one home run, four doubles and zero stolen bases. His walk and strikeout rates have improved, but that’s about where the good news ends.
The numbers are dragging him toward the bottom, and this has not been a one-month problem. Before joining Philadelphia, Turner owned a career OPS of .842.
In a Phillies uniform, that mark has dipped to .768, pulling his overall career OPS down to .813.
This season has been especially damaging. The league average OPS is .719, and Turner’s .671 OPS sits well below that line. Over 129 games and 574 plate appearances, he ranks 125th out of 138 qualified hitters, according to FanGraphs.
That kind of production puts Don Mattingly in a tough spot, especially with Turner still leading the MLB with 531 at-bats. Keeping him in the No. 2 spot while he’s this far off track is getting harder to justify, and the Phillies have other bats performing at a much higher level. A move lower in the order could ease some of the pressure.
Turner’s issues aren’t limited to the plate, either. He has slipped badly on defense, committing 20 errors, the most in the MLB.
His -13 Total Defensive Runs Saved is tied for fourth-worst in baseball with Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales. His Fielding Run Value of -9 is in the third percentile, and his Outs Above Average is also -9.
Even with those struggles, Turner has logged 1,095.2 defensive innings, which ranks 31st in the MLB. Mattingly has already shown a willingness to use defensive replacements for Bryce Harper late in games, and the same approach should be on the table for Turner.
Philadelphia now has more options in the infield after the addition of Luis Arraez. Bryson Stott can handle shortstop defensively and should get some chances there, while Edmundo Sosa deserves more opportunities as well.
A reset may be exactly what Turner needs. He’s coming off back-to-back 0-for-5 games after consecutive 0-for-4 outings, and the slump is deep enough that the Phillies can’t keep running him out there every day without making some kind of adjustment.
“I felt like I finally kind of made an adjustment in the box.”
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