The Philadelphia Phillies were eliminated in the National League Wild Card Series, and Trea Turner's abysmal season was a major talking point.
Offensively, Turner was terrible, and on defense he showed a great decline at shortstop. He is signed to an expensive long-term contract, so the Phillies need to find a way to make it work with him. The president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, made it clear to him that he needs to be better.
"He did not have a good year," Dombrowski told reporters. "He needs to fix things with his swing. He knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him that it's really mandatory that he's like that. He feels that he can play and if he plays shortstop as he did in 2025, then he can play shortstop. If he plays it as he did in 2026, he can't. He totally understands that. We've already given him some information ourselves that we think can be helpful."
The team sent a clear message to him, noting that he needs to be better and prove he can play good defense. They will not accept losing games because one of their highest-paid players cannot field the position he's at. Dombrowski also noted that if he cannot prove he is capable of playing well at shortstop, he will not hesitate to make a change.
"I said, 'Okay, let's go through the different scenarios if you're not playing well at shortstop in spring training,'" Dombrowski added. "We do have a couple of young players coming. Will they both be ready? I do not know that. I don't know what other additions we may make this winter time. He is very willing to do, if he doesn't play shortstop, what is best for the Philadelphia Phillies organization. That's how we left it with him, and he's determined to show us he can play it. I told him, 'You have to show it. You cannot play shortstop like you did defensively in 2026, going into 2027."
His offense is another issue, but he has a track record of good offense, so there seems to be more confidence in that department. It was a rough year for Turner, but the team is giving him a chance to prove his worth.