Last night, Trea Turner committed his 13th error. It’s not the most in the league amongst shortstops but it’s close. The analytics crowd backs this up too as he’s near the bottom in OOA and runs saved. It’s not just this year either. Take away last year’s oddly sublime fielding and he’s been near the bottom of the league every year he’s been with the Phillies. Then there’s the eye test. It’s not like he’s trying to make spectacular plays and missing, he’s screwing up the routine. He stinks. Trea Turner cannot be this team’s shortstop next year (or tomorrow for that matter, but they certainly aren’t making a move midseason).
He will though. We all know that. The Phillies don’t make radical changes no matter how obvious they are. My intention with this article though is to play out the scenario as if they did. Here’s what happens…
Turner in the Outfield
Even at 33 years old, Trea Turner is still one of the fastest players in the league. That’s obviously not the only metric that matters in the outfield, but it certainly helps. His arm isn’t the greatest either, but as a shortstop it certainly isn’t a noodle. If Edmundo Sosa can be thrown into left field without much worry, moving Turner to center or right with an offseason of warning and Spring Training isn’t impossible.
This helps fill two holes. It not only gets Turner off short, but it helps with the Phillies dearth of outfielders. There’s Brandon Marsh and…ummm…? Obviously, Justin Crawford is a rookie and doing fine, but he also isn’t special in center like Johan Rojas was. Turner wouldn’t be much of a downgrade if at all. However, since there really isn’t anyone to play right, let’s pencil Turner in there until we get to free agency. Who knows, the easier defensive assignment may end up helping his hitting.
Who Plays Shortstop?
Remember, we don’t just have a hole at short with this move, we also likely don’t have a 3rd baseman since Alec Bohm is in the final year of his contract this season (he has to go). While Bryson Stott has become a great fielding 2nd baseman, he came up as a shortstop and could probably man any of the 3 positions if necessary. That at least gives the team some flexibility.
We all wanted to pencil Aiden Miller in at 3B this season, but his back hasn’t let that happen. By next season, he’ll either be holding down one of these positions or he’ll be a lost cause. Let’s consider him a fringe option that would require an adequate placeholder in the short term at the very least.
Let’s assume we have a similar MLB marketplace next year despite a lockout looming. That would put the Phillies at around $236m with arbitration raises coming for Jhoan Duran, Marsh, and Stott. They should all be right around $10m give or take. That brings us to $266m with a nearly fully stocked rotation. That means about $50m to spend.
Who is available? There’s Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm, J.P. Crawford, Gleyber Torres, and possibly (but, no) Bo Bichette. Not great! As for trades, one of the guys I would be looking at is Jeremy Pena of the Astros. He is having a down 2026 compared to his great 2025, but his contact has been much improved and he still plays solid defense. 2027 is the last year on his contract. It will be very important to get someone who at least has the ability to remain an infielder into the future. Someone like Pena would mean Miller at 3rd and Stott stays at 2nd.
Center or a Corner?
The biggest thing with Turner is that he isn’t going anywhere. There is still 7/$191m left on his contract after this season and he is virtually untradeable (and has a full no trade clause), so we need to find a way to make him comfortable. A move to the outfield is the best way, but where?
It really depends on what we can find out there. Justin Crawford and Derek Hill are your presumptive CF platoon next year and that’s fine, but not great. If Turner plays right, then this tandem will remain your CFs. The free agent market for right fielders though, does contain some possible useful hitters: Randy Arozarena, Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Taylor Ward. When improving the lineup next year, how the team does in terms of acquiring a useful infielder will probably determine whether they are active with outfielders. Getting one of these guys would mean putting Trea in center and moving Justin Crawford to the trade block.
Lineup
| Order | Turner in CF | Turner in RF |
| 1 | Turner (CF) | Turner (RF) |
| 2 | Schwarber (DH) | Schwarber (DH) |
| 3 | Harper (1B) | Harper (1B) |
| 4 | Arozarena (RF) | Pena (SS) |
| 5 | Marsh (LF) | Marsh (LF) |
| 6 | Arraez (2B) | Stott (2B) |
| 7 | Stott (SS) | Realmuto (C) |
| 8 | Realmuto (C) | Crawford (CF) |
| 9 | Miller or ??? (3B) | Miller or ??? (3B) |
Philly Front Office 
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