Is Phillies' Trea Turner a $300 million lemon?
The blame for Philadelphia's 9-8 loss in 12 innings to Miami on Wednesday falls on the bullpen, which blew a 5-0 lead following a solid start by Zack Wheeler. But another poor game by shortstop Trea Turner — signed by the Phillies to a $300 million contract in the offseason — merits intense scrutiny, too.
In the bottom of the 11th, with the Phillies one out away from victory, Josh Bell hit a sharp grounder to Turner, who committed yet another ghastly defensive mistake by not fielding the ball properly.
Jacob Stallings scored from second base, the Marlins tied the game and would eventually win it in the bottom of the 12th. Had Turner at least kept the ball in the infield, the farthest Stallings would have gone was third base. No one scores from second on an infield single, much less a backup catcher like Stallings.
"Make that play and the game is over," Turner told the media afterward.
Turner played poorly in the field and at the plate. By going 0-for-5, his batting average dropped to .237 while his on-base percentage plummeted to a dismal .291. According to Baseball Reference, his OBP is the fourth lowest of any qualifying hitter in the National League (minimum 3.1 plate appearances per game). The only three with a lower OBP are Willy Adames (Brewers), Joey Wiemer (Brewers) and Ezequiel Tovar (Rockies). The three of them combined are making less than half of Turner's $27.2 million salary this season.
When the Phillies signed Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract in the offseason, they were expecting to get one of the game's brightest stars. Turner, the 2021 NL batting champ with Los Angeles, had a career batting average of .302. He was a former teammate of Bryce Harper's in Washington and someone the Phillies had hoped could put them on par with NL powerhouses Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Instead, Philadelphia is scrapping with the likes of Miami, Arizona and Cincinnati for a wild-card spot.
Turner's contract is the 12th largest in major league history. Among the nine active hitters whose contract is larger than his, their on-base percentages this season are as follows:
Aaron Judge, Yankees: .415
Corey Seager, Rangers: .414
Mookie Betts, Dodgers: .385
Bryce Harper, Phillies: .384
Mike Trout, Angels: .369
Rafael Devers, Red Sox: .331
Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres: .328
Francisco Lindor, Mets: .323
Manny Machado, Padres: .319
Turner's contract is also the reason why the Phillies have to scrape by with Matt Strahm, Jeff Hoffman, Gregory Soto and Dylan Covey as relief pitchers. Money outlaid for Turner could have been better spent on bolstering the bullpen, which has been the team's weak spot for over a decade.
Instead, Philadelphia went for the splashy name in free agency, a $300 million lemon. Turner has a star-level salary but is the team's weakest link. If he doesn't improve, he could become baseball's first $300 million benchwarmer.
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