A position change for Philadelphia Phillies star Trea Turner now looks inevitable. When the Phillies signed Turner after the 2022 season, they probably did not envision this coming so soon. Turner was likely to change positions at some point during his contract which runs through the 2033 season. The Phillies have a number of rising middle infield prospects in their farm system, led by Aidan Miller and Starlyn Caba, both primarily shortstops. Alec Bohm is free agent-eligible after the 2026 season, and Bryson Stott is free agent-eligible after the 2027 season.
How those contracts line up with other contracts, and the MLB ETAs for Miller and Caba set up Turner to make a position change eventually. However, he has been so bad defensively at shortstop that the position change timeline needs to be moved up. Making the switch during the offseason must be on the table. Making the change during the time left in the 2024 season remains highly unlikely. Turner will remain at shortstop through this season unless something drastically changes. But since keeping Turner at shortstop beyond this season hurts the Phillies’ defense significantly, a position change is necessary.
Position Change For Trea Turner Seems Inevitable
Defensive Struggles At Shortstop
This season Turner has -12 Defensive Runs Saved and -3 Outs Above Average with a -2 Fielding Run Value at shortstop. That first figure is the second worst Defensive Runs Saved total this season among qualified shortstops, eclipsed only by Willy Adames. Turner is tied with Oneil Cruz for the fourth worst rating in Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value among qualified shortstops. 10 of Turner’s 16 errors have been fielding errors, while the other six were throwing errors. He has a .957 fielding percentage in 2024, which is his worst in a season with at least 800 defensive innings at shortstop.
Not technically an error by Trea Turner, but common sense will score it that way. pic.twitter.com/RCwDsBGaLT
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) September 7, 2024
Since Turner joined the Phillies, he has 39 errors. Elly De La Cruz is the sole qualified shortstop with more in that span. Turner has -24 Defensive Runs Saved total at shortstop with the Phillies, ranking as the worst among qualified shortstops in that span. That figure is 16 fewer Defensive Runs Saved than the second-worst total in that span for shortstops. In his Phillies tenure, Turner has -7 Outs Above Average and a -5 Fielding Run Value at shortstop. In those two categories, he is worse than every qualified shortstop in that span except CJ Abrams. He also has a .959 fielding percentage in that span, the worst among players with at least 1,000 innings at shortstop in that stretch.
New Position
Flipping Stott and Turner defensively is the easiest resolution. This would put Turner at second base and Stott at shortstop. Stott made appearances at shortstop this season while Turner was out with an injury. In his career, he has -6 Defensive Runs Saved and -4 Outs Above Average with a -3 Fielding Run Value at shortstop. For comparison, Turner has -15 Defensive Runs Saved and five Outs Above Average with a five Fielding Run Value at shortstop in his career. Additionally, Stott has a better career fielding percentage at shortstop than Turner. Meanwhile, Edmundo Sosa has 15 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average with a 12 Fielding Run Value at shortstop in his career. With Sosa and Stott platooning, putting Turner at second base with Sosa at shortstop in that situation would be beneficial. That should happen this season rather than waiting for next year.
Another potential alternate position for Turner is the outfield. He has 45 career appearances in the outfield, all in center, including 44 starts. Turner has a .980 fielding percentage in center field, the same as his career fielding percentage at second base. However, in his career, Turner has -2 Defensive Runs Saved and two Outs Above Average along with a three Fielding Run Value in center field. Meanwhile, he has seven Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average as well as a five Fielding Run Value at second base in his career. The current Phillies roster construction makes it unlikely that Turner moves to the outfield in the immediate future. A Turner-Stott swap heading into 2025 is the best way forward for the time being.
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