The Phillies’ shortstop situation is one of the biggest questions hanging over their offseason, and it starts with Trea Turner. He is still in the picture, but after a steep drop in 2026, Philadelphia can’t just assume he’ll be the answer in 2027.
Turner’s glove was a real problem last season, and his bat didn’t do enough to offset it. That leaves the Phillies with a decision to make: stick with him, turn to Aidan Miller if he’s ready, or go outside the organization for help.
One name that has surfaced is Corey Seager. Dayn Perry of CBS Sports included the Texas Rangers shortstop on a list of the top 25 trade targets, placing him in the NTC targets tier because he would have a say in any destination if Texas decided to move him.
For Philadelphia, the fit is obvious on paper, even if the path to getting him is not. The Phillies’ farm system would normally make a deal for a player like Seager tough to pull off, but his injury history and the size of his contract - he is owed $155 million through 2031 - could bring the price down from what a player with his track record usually costs.
Seager’s résumé is loaded. He’s a five-time All-Star, two-time World Series MVP and three-time Silver Slugger. Even with the injury concerns, he has still put together 9.3 bWAR over the last two seasons, despite appearing in 102 games in each of those years.
The offense is where he would make the biggest impact. Seager hit 112 OPS+ in 2026, tied for the second-lowest single-season mark of his career, but that number would still have ranked third on the Phillies behind only Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.
He also brings the kind of power Philadelphia could use. Seager has launched at least 20 home runs in five straight seasons and owns a career 162-game average of 32 homers, with a 4.5% home run rate compared to the 3.1% league average.
There’s more to his game than pop, too. Seager works counts, draws walks and remains a strong defender, all of which would help a Phillies club looking for more stability and more production. The downside is obvious: he would be at least 33 years old during the 2027 season, so any commitment would come with real risk.
Still, if Turner is no longer the right answer at shortstop, Seager would be a major upgrade over what Philadelphia has in house right now.
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Durans value showed up in the way Texas used him, with the 26-year-old moving around the diamond and taking on seven different defensive positions while appearing in a career-high 153 games. For a Rangers team that has needed dependable coverage wherever the lineup and injuries have pushed it, his season stood out as a bright spot, even if the full scope of just how far he stretched that versatility is part of the story still worth digging into. [Read more 🡒]