Flailing Phillie of the Week(end): Trea Turner

The NBC Sports broadcast crew has a Phillie of the Week that they highlight each game. They highlight players who are doing well, however.

This weekend’s Phillie of the week is instead someone flailing both their bat and glove around. Unable to make any plays when they’re needed.

Of course, what else would you expect from a “superstar” making $300 million?

I mean, we’re talking about a player in his 10th season in the league. He’s been an MVP candidate several times. Yet, here he is, playing worse than he ever has for no apparent reason. In fact, Turner had cumulative stats in the shortened COVID season that were higher than what he’s managed in almost 100 games this season. Oh, he’s leading the league in at-bats in 2023, too.

Trea Turner has been a below average shortstop for the Phillies all season on both ends of the ball, but he’s really highlighted it in this series loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

The Phillies have now lost two straight games to the hapless Guardians by one run, something that Turner himself should have easily gotten or exceeded in each game.

Instead, it’s two losses.

His $300-million stat line in these two games:

2/9, 3K, 0BB, 1 GIDP, 7 runners LOB (3 stranded at third base, 5 in scoring position), and one defensive miscue (not called an error, of course) that allowed 2 runs to score

If Turner has been involved in a play that could determine the play, he’s botched it every time.

Friday Night

In Friday night’s game, it started with his defense.

A routine grounder by Josh Naylor bounces off the glove of Turner in the bottom of the first. The end result is that Ranger Suarez has to throw seven more pitches and “allows” two runs.

These are credited as earned runs simply because Turner has been around long enough that the official scorers decided not to give him an error for botching a play he should make.

With a chance to make up for it, he came to the plate with 2 outs in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, he “lined out” to an outfielder to end the inning.

The Phillies offense gave him another chance in the sixth. This time, there was only one out. Simply lifting the ball would score a run. Turner went up to the plate and struck out, leaving even more runners out there.

Ultimately, his defense and offense combined for at least a 3-run swing in favor of the Guardians. Arguably, that swing should be even more in favor of Cleveland.

Considering his team lost by a single run, that -3 run contribution in itself is extreme. It also tagged Ranger Suarez, who otherwise should have had 5IP and 2ER, with a loss.

Saturday Night

While not as extreme as Friday night, Turner certainly played his part in making the Phillies offense a failure Saturday.

The Phillies were shutout and managed just two hits. Turner made sure they weren’t worth a thing.

In the third, Sosa managed a walk, but Turner hit into a double play to ensure he didn’t put much pressure on the opposing pitcher.

In the sixth, Sosa made some magic with a double down the line on a pitch he probably shouldn’t have been able to hit. Schwarber moved him over to first. That brought up Trea Turner with only one out. Again, Turner simply needed to lift the ball and the Phillies aren’t shutout. In fact, they’d have been winning at that point.

Instead, Turner struck out on four pitches to make it so not even a sacrifice from Castellanos would be possible. He made contact just once on his three swings.

In a game where offense was at a premium, he put up the only double play of the game with his bat and he failed to even manage a sacrifice that could have tied or won the game.

Again, this atrocious showing at the plate (along with an assist from some of the worst fielding we’ve seen this season from the combo of Stott and Castellanos) tagged a gem from the starting pitcher (Wheeler) as a loss.

Season Overall

Turner overall this season is now at .246/.299/.388.

Among the Phillies regulars who don’t get benched (like Bryson Stott does), only JT Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber have a lower batting average – and both of them have a better, OBP, OPS and slugging percentage than Turner.

In fact, Schwarber not only has more RBIs than Turner, but more runs – perhaps that’s due to Schwarber’s blazing speed on the basepaths.

Compare Turner to the other 18 batters that qualify at shortstop, and he ranks 10th, 11th, 13th and 13th with his four slash lines. Below average.

Compare him to other MLB players in the field, and he’s committed 10 errors. That’s a generously low number compared to the plays he should have made. It’s still the second-worst mark among all players. Only C.J. Abrams of the Nationals has committed more this season.

It’s time for the so-called “superstar” to even play at the level of an average player. Simply not being a liability would be nice and could have managed the Phillies at least one win in their past two losses.

If becoming even an average player is not possible, it’s really time for Turner to ride the bench. If the Phillies don’t mind awful at-bats, there’s at least two guys in Lehigh Valley and three in Reading that can field the shortstop position better than Turner has for the big-league club.

And that’s why Turner is out Flailing Phillie of the Week(end)
– Tom McCarthy Voice