Oct 6, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) advances to first base in the first inning against the New York Mets during game two of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
In December 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Trea Turner to a lengthy and lucrative contract. In return for a commitment of 11 years and $300 million, Turner was supposed to serve as the final piece to the championship puzzle that the club was two wins away from completing the previous fall.
Contending for a World Series doesn’t come cheap, and owner John Middleton has spared no expense trying to get his trophy back. Many of his front office’s acquisitions have paid incredible dividends, pushing the Phils as close to October glory as they have been since the 2007-2011 run. Zack Wheeler and Bryce Harper in particular have emerged as two of the finest playoff performers this city has ever seen.
Given the investment the Phillies made in Turner, it would be reasonable to assume the front office expected a significant contributor to join their lineup, if not a postseason difference maker on the level of Wheeler and Harper. The speedy shortstop was billed as a base stealer who hits for average and power, a guy who could get on base and put pressure on pitchers as they faced the meat of the order.
What the Phillies have actually gotten is an erratic hitter whose lack of plate discipline has been debilitating for two Octobers running. On the biggest stages, Turner has come up small. He presses when he should relax, swings away when he should take a pitch, kills rallies rather than creating them, and disappoints when he needs to deliver.
During Game 4 of the NLDS, with the Phillies needing a win against the Mets to save their season and take the series back to Philadelphia, Turner went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. As the right-handed bat sandwiched between lefties Kyle Schwarber and Harper and facing a tough lefty in Jose Quintana, he had to be a catalyst for the Phillies to compete. Instead, he faltered. Again.
To his credit, Turner at least tried to work the count in his first two plate appearances. In the first, he saw six pitches, pushing Quintana to a full count before flying out to right field. His second attempt, a seven-pitch battle that yielded a groundout, also ended without success.
The 2024 campaign would come to a close with the Phillies’ shortstop on deck and waiting for an opportunity to tie the game or put his team in front.
If he did get the chance, would you have been confident in his ability to produce in the clutch? What moment in this game, or this series, would inspire such belief? It certainly wouldn’t be Turner’s dismal NLDS offensive output. He generated a total of three hits in four games; not one was for extra bases. The .300 hitter from years past was gone; the All-Star shortstop who was on fire early in the season didn’t make the trip to Queens. In his place was the middling player who went hitless in the last three games of the 2023 NLCS.
8 Questions Phillies Must Answer at Year-End Press Conferences
From @TimKellySports ⬇️https://t.co/uub4bL8oKN
— On Pattison (@OnPattison) October 14, 2024
Where do the Phillies go from here? This offseason will likely be one of change in Philadelphia. Given the team’s high payroll and even higher expectations, there will be considerable urgency to reposition the team for another championship chase. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, general manager Sam Fuld and the rest of the Phillies front office will likely take a hard look at the minor league prospect pipeline and weigh the possibility of mortgaging the future to shore up the current roster. Would the franchise part with Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford or Andrew Painter? Will they be major players in the free-agent market, with enticing stars like Juan Soto and Alex Bregman available?
Dombrowski will need to figure out which of his own impending free agents are worth returning for the 2025 season. Do they bring back relievers Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez? What about the oft-injured Spencer Turnbull?
Of course, there is also the matter of the current starting nine. It would not be surprising to see the Phillies part ways with Alec Bohm and/or Brandon Marsh as they seek more reliable offensive options for those positions. They might not be the only players on the chopping block. So it goes in the business of professional sports.
Alec Bohm on if he’s at a crossroads: “No, I know where I’ll be next year.” @OnPattison @PhilliesNation pic.twitter.com/MzCAMAf9a8
The Phillies need to get better. Their postseason opponents have capitalized on their aggressiveness at the plate, getting impatient hitters to chase pitches outside the zone and neutralizing a potent offense that was supposed to get the Phillies back to Broad Street for another parade.
Although change is in the air in Philadelphia, one person who is not going anywhere is Turner. He has nine years and roughly a quarter of a billion dollars remaining on a deal that feels increasingly like a miscalculation. He’ll be 32 next year, by no means ancient, but closer to the end of his prime than the beginning. At some point, the elite speed and hand-eye coordination that propelled Turner to baseball prosperity will begin to diminish. Can he improve his game at the margins, perhaps drawing more walks or at least not chasing so many bad balls?
If Turner fails, it will not be for lack of effort. By all accounts, he is an incredibly hard worker who prepares well and puts pressure on himself to perform at the highest level. His self-drive is admirable. He wants to succeed. The fans want him to succeed, as evidenced by last year’s standing ovation that might have helped Turner bust out of a months-long slump.
But can he succeed, especially in the moments that matter most? Or will the drive that is his greatest strength prove to be his undoing, forcing him back into bad habits?
The fans in Philadelphia have learned a frustrating lesson these past three years — crowd noise is great, but it can’t hit baseballs or execute plays. If the Phillies are going to get Middleton his World Series trophy back, it will be up to the guys on the field to finish the job.
Turner has to be one of those guys. He needs to have an impact on these postseason games, certainly more than he’s provided over the past two seasons. While he isn’t the reason the Phillies went home early, he certainly is a reason.
And that’s simply not good enough, not for a team and a city eager to reclaim baseball’s ultimate prize.
