The Phillies have their shortstop for the foreseeable future — Trea Turner.
On the same day that their division-rival New York Mets signed an eye-catching deal with future Hall of Fame starting pitcher Justin Verlander, the Philadelphia Phillies landed a star of their own.
According to several reports, the organization has signed two-time All-Star, Silver Slugger Award winner, and 2019 World Series champion Trea Turner. The eight-year veteran receives a lucrative 11-year, $300 million deal with a full no-trade clause.
The pact is just the fourth $300 million agreement ever signed by a shortstop. Turner will be paid $27.27 million a year with no deferrals, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. As The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber notes, this average annual value (AAV) is about the same combined AAV that Jean Segura and Didi Gregorius received this past season.
Turner’s new deal will cover his age 30 to 40 seasons. The 29-year-old reunites with former Washington Nationals teammate Bryce Harper, who is signed through his age 38 season in 2031. Turner also is back with his former hitting coach, Kevin Long.
NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark reports that the Phillies view Turner as “one of the top 10 players in baseball” — and the contract that Managing Partner John Middleton and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski awarded him is a clear indication of that.
With the addition of Turner, Bryson Stott will now become the everyday starter at second base. Given his tweet shortly after the announcement, the former first-round pick does not seem disappointed about the news and position change.
Trea Turner’s original Smooth Slide™️ happened against the Phillies at CBP to beat a throw from Bryce Harper. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/CqadDwAxAp
— Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich) December 5, 2022
Turner is a career .302/.355/.487 hitter with 191 doubles, 36 triples, 124 home runs, 434 RBI, and 230 stolen bases. Among his best seasons came in 2021, when he led all of Major League Baseball in batting average (.328) and hits (195).
This past season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Florida native hit .298 with 39 doubles, 21 home runs and 100 RBI, while successfully stealing 27 bases out of 30 attempts.
The Phillies have now impressively spent a combined $1.042 billion in recent seasons for Harper, Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber, tweets USA TODAY’s Gabe Lacques.
Turner and Harper being under contract to wear red pinstripes through at least 2031 is surely an exciting note for Phillies fans to appreciate. The offseason is just getting started for the organization and Dombrowski. We will see who else the club adds as they attempt to return to the World Series and ultimately come away as champions next fall.