May 2, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) runs the bases after hitting a single against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Trea Turner is embracing the discomfort of his new approach at the plate - even if the success he is having with it isn't the most fulfilling.
Turner has 20 hits in his last 12 games and has raised his batting average to .299. His on base percentage is up to .379, which has only been topped once in his career - the Covid-shortened 2020 season.
But of those 20 hits, 18 of them have been singles.
"In the past couple years, when I've been going bad, it's been really bad, and right now it doesn't feel great," Turner said. "I feel like the floor is kind of raised a little bit and I'm finding some holes, but I would obviously love to hit for more power. I feel like it's been a pretty soft 20 hits for the most part."
But Turner is doing what he's been asked to do by his manager.
Rob Thomson sat down with Turner before the season and had a heart-to-heart with his shortstop.
This is a super telling quote from Rob Thomson to @AntSanPhilly on the type of approach he told Trea Turner he wants him to have offensively before the season. pic.twitter.com/tSphcTsfmm
"I (told him), 'I don't care about home runs,'" Thomson said. "'We got plenty of guys that can do that. I want you to get on base and .380 is the goal. I want you to steal bases. I want you to get 40. I want you to score 100 runs.'
"If he does that, I don't care about anything else."
It was a very specific request from the Phillies manager. And Turner has been executing it, even if it's a bit uncomfortable for him.
"I've finally kind of accepted that the game's changed," Turner said. "It's not how it was when I came up. Guys don't really want to throw strikes, you know? They go for chase. So, a lot of the things that happened early in my career were, 'Oh, they don't want to walk me, because then they'll have to face Bryce (Harper),' or they don't want me to steal a bag.
"I just have to accept that they're willing to do that. I think I had a hard time accepting that in the last four or five years, where when I get to, say, a 3-2 count, I always felt like I should get a pitch to hit. Instead, they're O.K. with walking you nowadays. That's kind of been the biggest hurdle for me, and it's more mental than physical."
Flashback to the end of season press conference the Phillies had last October following a bitter playoff defeat to the New York Mets. Thomson said he needed some of his players to have a different approach at the plate this season. He wouldn't name names, but the overwhelming assumption was one of the players he was talking about was Turner. After all, Turner was the one who said after the Phillies were eliminated that he felt they were getting themselves out too much.
So far in 2025, that hasn't been the case for Turner - who has been far more selective and chasing a lot less frequently this season.
Turner's chase rate is down to 27.9%. That's below the league average of 28.5%. Here are his last three seasons:
Turner has also walked 13 times in 30 games played (he missed two games in March). That has him on pace for 70 free passes, which would be a career high.
He's not providing slug, though, which is something that's eating at him a little bit, despite really good numbers in the last 12 games. For the season, he has just six extra base hits - five doubles and only one home run. Turner is one of only 20 players in baseball this season with at least 100 plate appearances and one or fewer home runs.
Trea Turner’s stats:
From his last 7 games:
30 AB | 13 H | 1 2B | 0 HR | 5 RBI |
1 BB | 5 K | .433/.452/.467
From his last 15 games:
59 AB | 21 H | 2 2B | 0 HR | 7 RBI |
6 BB | 10 K | .356/.433/.390pic.twitter.com/wlCVXhgCKB
But his slash line in the last 12 games (54 plate appearances) is .417/.481/.458 for an OPS of .940. While overall those numbers are great, having an on-base percentage higher than a slugging percentage is atypical for today's game. It's kind of a throwback to a bygone era when guys at the top of your order were slap hitters that would be table setters for the big boppers in the middle of the order.
Thomson feels that will help the Phillies have a better offense if Turner is constantly on base, no matter how he gets there. Turner doesn't disagree, but he can't help but feel like something's still missing.
"It's a great goal and we talked about it and I definitely want to achieve that," Turner said. "That'd be a really good season if I can get on base that high. ... I'm definitely finding first base a lot, but I still want to be a complete player. So (Thomson's) right in the sense that I can't just chase power and swing out of my shoes all the time. I need to be controlled and those homers will come. So, I agree with him.
"But I just want to take it to another level. I feel like right now, I'm doing what we talked about, but we've seen in the past, I can hit the ball out of the ballpark, hit doubles and drive the ball. That's just the last piece (that's needed)."
