Two-time All-Star shortstop Trea Turner has been among the biggest names on the MLB free agent market as things play out around the baseball world.
Turner is coming off his first career 100-RBI season and is seen as a potential franchise cornerstone moving forward. He’s still in his prime at 29 years old. His ability to produce from the top of the lineup can’t be ignored, either.
It’s in this that Turner continues to be linked to some big-market teams, including his current Los Angeles Dodgers squad and a rival NL East team.
According to this note from MLB Network insider Joel Sherman, Turner to the Philadelphia Phillies is a real possibility.
“If you’re a betting man, I think the Phillies signing Turner has a good chance to happen,” Sherman’s report on Trea Turner’s potential landing spot.
Current Phillies starting middle infielders Didi Gregorius and Jean Segura are free agents. Meanwhile, two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper is slated to miss significant time next season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
For the defending National League champions, acquiring someone of Turner’s ilk could be big over both the short term and long term. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s considered a close friend of Harper’s.
Related: Ideal Trea Turner landing spots in MLB free agency
Trea Turner as a fit for the Philadelphia Phillies
Based on Sherman’s report, it seems reasonable to conclude that Turner will in fact land in Philadelphia. In a MLB free agent market that is filled with top-end shortstop talent, Turner is among the most-attractive options.
It would not be a surprise if the former NL batting champion came close to the $34.1 million Francisco Lindor is earning with the New York Mets, which set the market recently. At least one estimate has Turner set to earn an eight-year, $264 million deal on the open market. Based on his recent success, this isn’t highly unlikely.
- Trea Turner stats (2022): .298 average, 21 HR, 100 RBI, 27 SB, .809 OPS
Turner’s ability to be a 20-20 guy while hovering around the .300 mark at the plate has him as a valuable commodity. A first-round pick of the San Diego Padres back in 2014, Turner has hit over .300 three times in his career.
He got off to a roaring start after being acquired by the Washington Nationals in a trade. In fact, Turner hit a robust .342 with a .937 OPS as a rookie back in 2016. He then won the National League batting title in splitting time between Washington and Los Angeles back in 2021.