The Phillies shortstop reported to camp on Wednesday and chatted with reporters about the frustrations of falling short in the postseason the last two years.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Every player except Trea Turner had arrived at Phillies camp and on Wednesday, Turner passed his physical and quickly went out to the half-field at BayCare Ballpark for an early-morning infield drill with Bryson Stott, Bobby Dickerson and Larry Bowa.
Turner missed the first couple of days of full-squad workouts after his wife, Kristen, gave birth to their third child. There's no place he'd have rather been, though he did say he was a little jealous scrolling social media and seeing his teammates already hard at work.
This will be Turner's third season as a Phillie. He signed an 11-year, $300 million contract before 2023 and looked like he might be the missing piece to a championship puzzle. He's been very good as a Phillie but not quite star-caliber. As a National and Dodger, Turner hit .302/.355/.487. As a Phillie, he's hit .279/.328/.463.
He's had high highs and low lows the last two seasons, binges of power and weeks without contributing much offensively.
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"A lot of similarities of just early here in '23," Turner said when asked about last season. "Just a similar thing of trying a little too hard, wanting to do too much at times and then it just kinda snowballs and it's not the good, consistent baseball that I want to play.
"I've had really good stretches but it's those downtrends that have been really bad. I feel like in the past, that's not the case. Put the ball in play more, take your walks, I know those things, but you're in the box and you've got to do it."
It sounds like Turner will begin the regular season as the Phillies' leadoff hitter, though manager Rob Thomson won't make a decision until the end of camp. Turner has more career plate appearances leading off than anywhere else in the lineup, but he's done so just 15 times as a Phillie, all in 2023.
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There are several reasons why Thomson is interested in the shake-up atop the batting order. One is increased protection for Bryce Harper. Another is the hope that it gets Turner back to a more selective, all-fields approach.
"I like it," Turner said. "I've always hit one or two, for the most part, in my career. I think it would be fun, it would be a little different, I haven't done it for a few years now. Kinda get back to a little bit more speed.
"I think you take a few more pitches here or there. For me, I always looked at it as Bryce is hitting behind me so I'm ready to hit. Obviously, they're coming after me and don't want to face him. I think when you're leading off, just that label kind of puts a little bit of perspective on it, the way pitchers pitch you."
Thomson is interested in seeing how it looks with Turner leading off and potentially making more of an impact on the basepaths. He's 49-for-53 as a Phillie stealing bases in the regular season but there have been plenty of times he's planted himself on first base to avoid running the Phils out of an inning while Harper's at the plate.
Harper may begin the season batting second, so Turner could find himself in the same scenario as when he bats second and Harper is third.
"I can run a lot more. I've said that a lot in my career in general, I could have run a lot more in my career but it's more about scoring runs," Turner said. "I don't care about stolen bases, it's more about scoring runs. I think the last few years and even when I played in Washington and L.A., there's times when you can steal a base but I've got to stay there to let those guys hit. That's part of the game. I definitely can steal more. I'm not gonna act like I can steal 70-80 bases or anything like that, but there's a handful of times when the opportunity is there for a stolen base. It's not always the right play."
Turner did not spend any time this offseason revisiting his season-ending slump from 2024. He's a hard worker who thinks a lot about his swing and approach and is often proactive in making adjustments or seeking out help. He knows what he needs to do. A major key is getting back to using the whole field, which Phillies leadership has said of its hitters since October.
"I mean, the guy hit .295 last year," Harper said. "I'd take .295 any day of the week. Trea's a great player, he's a superstar player. He elevated his game the first year — obviously, he didn't have a great first half and then he goes out and has an unbelievable second half like he's Superman.
"Trea's gonna come in and be a dog for us, play this game hard, play it right, play every day and I expect Trea to come in here and be Trea."
Maybe so, but the Phillies aren't going to sit back and hope for the best. They plan to stay on their guys when adjustments are required, even with the vets who probably don't need to hear it. This is already a very good team, but coaxing that extra 2%, 3%, 5% of production out of players can be the hardest part. The last three years, it's been the difference between finishing the season with a parade and ending it in a somber postgame clubhouse.
"Last few years, frustrating when you don't win," Turner said. "Anything short of that is borderline unacceptable in the sense that we have high goals, we have the team, we have the coaching staff, ownership pulling in the same direction. When you have all those things and you don’t win, it’s frustrating. I think you look and back and there were good parts of seasons, fun moments and whatnot but at the end of the day, we want to win. That’s kind of all that matters.”
