3 Reasons the Phillies Should Not Trade Trea Turner

The Phillies can shop Turner around and see what kind of offers he can generate from around the league, but they would be doing so when his value is at an all-time low. Not many teams are going to line up for someone who produced a -0.1 bWAR and 1.1 fWAR, falling woefully short of preseason expectations.

He had an OPS+ of 81, which was a career-low, and the first time since becoming an MLB regular that he wasn’t in triple digits. His wRC+ of 83 is also a single-season low. A 21.0% strikeout rate was near the single-season high for his career, and his batting average dropped from a National League-best .304 in 2025 to .242 in 2026.

His -17 Defensive Runs Saved was tied for the second-worst mark in the MLB. Philadelphia would be selling him for pennies on the dollar.

2. Phillies would be paying him anyway

If Philadelphia were to move him, they would almost assuredly be paying off a large chunk of his contract. Turner is signed through 2033 and will be paid $27,272,727 annually through that year.

Given the uncertainty around the future of baseball, with a potential salary cap looming, no team is taking on that amount of money. The Phillies would be eating a portion of that, paying someone not to be on the roster.

Yes, Turner’s production was underwhelming in 2026, but it isn’t as if the Phillies have options knocking down the door to take his spot in the lineup. If Philadelphia is going to be paying Turner, they might as well try and get him to bounce back with a few changes.

1. Motivated Turner could bounce back

One encouraging sign for the future is that Turner is taking accountability and putting the onus on himself for how he performed. He has not made any excuses; he knows he struggled, and it was a major reason the team’s offense didn’t get on track.

Any professional will be motivated to turn things around, and Turner certainly applies to that. The Phillies need to exhaust all options before biting the bullet and moving him, maybe swapping bad contracts with another franchise.

Try him back in the outfield and see if his speed still plays to his advantage in the grass and he can make an impact in that fashion. Also, as a right-handed hitter, he would help balance things out.

Move him down in the order and see if that helps take the pressure off and he performs better. Turner is motivated to get things back on track, which is good news for the franchise.

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