During the off-season, the Philadelphia Phillies signed shortstop Trea Turner to one of the richest contracts in MLB history. They forked out $300 million in order to keep him for the next 11 years, but things haven’t exactly gotten off to a blazing start.
Trea Turner Struggling With Production In 2023
Trea Turner still has more HRs and RBIs in the WBC than he does for the Phillies this season 😳 pic.twitter.com/siHPGTlfue
— The Game Day MLB (@TheGameDayMLB) May 20, 2023
The Phillies were thought to be one of the World Series favorites for 2023. They exceeded expectations last year, making it all the way to the championship before falling short to the Houston Astros. They bolstered their roster over the winter by adding Turner, and had high hopes despite being in one of the strongest divisions in the game.
The season hasn’t gotten away from them yet, but the Phillies are not the dominant force that some thought they’d be. Bryce Harper has returned and should help the cause, but the team is two games under .500 after Sunday’s action. They are already 7 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the division, and are currently behind the Miami Marlins as well.
Turner hasn’t been of much help. He leads the league in at-bats with 191, but has the lowest batting average of any of Philadelphia’s every day players not named Kyle Schwarber. He is hitting .257, which isn’t the most terrible number in the world, but his on base percentage is at an even .300, far too low for a player being paid as much as Turner is. Even Schwarber has a higher OBP.
Trea Turner reacts to getting booed by Phillies fans. pic.twitter.com/rEdEHN1mTG
— FAX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFAX) May 20, 2023
It looked like Trea Turner was going to have an excellent season, given how he performed in the World Baseball Classic. Just before the MLB regular season started, Turner was a star for Team USA and a big reason why they made it to the championship game.
In 6 games during the WBC, Turner hit 5 home runs, which tied the record for most ever in the tournament. He was also able to drive in 11 runs in those six contests. But it apparently hasn’t carried over, as he has yet to reach either of those marks in 45 games with the Phillies. As of Sunday evening, he had just 4 homers and 10 RBIs on the year.
Philadelphia has a chance to make up some ground in the division, but they’ll have to be at their best if they don’t want to lose even more ground. After they play the Diamondbacks this week, their next three series will be against division opponents, including 7 games in 8 days on the road against the Braves and the Mets.
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