Phillies blindly determined to keep Trea Turner at short no matter what metrics say

The Philadelphia Phillies signed Trea Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract before the 2023 season. It was a major move at the time to acquire one of baseball’s elite talents.

Turner’s first season in the City of Brotherly Love didn’t go as planned. He was a career .302 hitter through the first eight years of his career but hit just .266 and struck out a career-high 150 times in his first season with the Phillies. 

The fans had to give Turner a standing ovation on Aug. 4, 2023, to help turn his season around and it worked. He hit .317 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in the final two months of the season. His fielding remained an issue as he had 23 errors and a .960 fielding percentage in 2023.

Phillies blindly determined to keep Trea Turner at short no matter what metrics say

The Phillies were hoping for a turnaround season for Turner in 2024. The 31-year-old missed some time due to injury, but he was named the National League All-Star Game shortstop starter and had a much better year at the plate. The poor defense continued.

Turner played 1,018 2/3 innings at shortstop in 2024. He was tied for the seventh most errors among qualified players with 17. He had the fourth-worst fielding percentage at .962.

“We rely on defensive metrics, but there’s also not a perfect way of describing the defensive aspects of the game as far as we know,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said about Turner’s defense during his end-of-season press conference. “He did not have, [he’s] not an outstanding defensive shortstop. He has good range, he makes really good plays at times. But he also makes too many errors at points, but he has improved, he’s worked hard. I wouldn't be surprised if he continues to improve despite his age.”

According to FanGraphs, Turner was a below-average fielder in eight categories and had the second-worst defensive value among qualified shortstops. There have been talks about moving him to a different position whether that’s second base or center field, both of which he has major league experience at.

“He will be our shortstop, yes, he’s going to be our shortstop in the coming year,” Dombrowski said.

Defense is an important aspect of the game. Pitchers and catchers are involved in every play, but the most valuable position on the field is shortstop. Turner needs to show major improvements in his defensive abilities, and management needs to acknowledge when a player isn’t playing up to standards.

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