Phillies

Of All the Phillies Disappointments in 2026, Trea Turner May Top the List

By Nick Piccone

Published: Oct 2nd, 2026 · 1:59 PM EDT

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The 2026 Phillies season felt cursed from the jump. Starting the season 9-19 had a lot of us calling for the end of the Rob Thomson era, if only because it might wake up the players sleepwalking through another long 162-game season.

It wasn’t that we thought the manager was the reason for the 9-19 start, but there was a large enough sample size of him not really trying to shake up things too much in a clubhouse that sorely needed it after 2023’s NLCS collapse against the Diamondbacks. And maybe that was by order of Dave Dombrowski. We know how this team operates. We question the manager, but the real questions are for Dombrowski, and, to a certain extent, John Middleton. After all, if the president of baseball operations feels constricted by budget restraints on a payroll that’s currently fourth-highest in the entire league, he’s going to bargain hunt. And that’s exactly what Dombrowski did.

There’s plenty of blame to go around for how this season transpired. The roster was good enough to make the playoffs, which is kind of all that matters in this day and age. The starting rotation continued to mostly be a strength of the team, despite the ups-and-downs of almost every pitcher not named Jesús Luzardo. But if they were on, a 1-0 Phillies lead in the eighth inning didn’t leave us with existential dread the way it did in years past.

But, if we’re being honest with ourselves, the hitting once again failed the team. Not being able to set a rotation for the playoffs hurt, sure, but I love what Don Mattingly did in Game 1 of the NLWC series against the Braves. Moves he was forced to make because the Phillies just could not win one more game in two weeks down the stretch. Make no mistake, I am not a Mattingly guy because even though the roster was thinner than previous years, he had a big hand in the faltering bullpen throughout the season. I understand the logic behind wanting arms to be ready – I just don’t understand the logic of having guys warm up in the bullpen that are not used that day, and thus becoming unavailable the next day. It was just a top-heavy roster with a lame-duck manager. Just getting to the playoffs seemed like a miracle.

What didn’t seem like a miracle was Trea Turner.

He had statistically the worst year of his Major League career. He’s a major reason why the lineup was so bad. His batting average was .242 (career .291), OBP was .297 (career .343), SLG .378 (career .467), OPS .675 (career .810), and OPS+ 81 (career 116 and 19% below league average). There was just no way they were going to hit a stride offensively long-term with him anywhere in the lineup, much less leading off or batting second. Before Mattingly switched Turner back to leadoff and Schwarber second last week, I’d been asking for that for a while, simply because Turner’s numbers were a good bit better leading off than hitting second. I just think the change was too late – but I’m not convinced if given longer, it would have made a difference. Turner was just bad.

From Baseball Savant:

We all understand baseball is a hard game to play, especially when there’s a 162-game regular season. But when we’re seeing the same exact habits and being told they work so much on things outside of games, it begs the question – what exactly are they working on? It’s not just Turner, but he’s the most impactful negative player on this team – and that’s a huge problem.

I don’t know how we got to this point after he won a batting title last season. I know everyone’s saying seven more years!? but I highly doubt all those seasons play out in Philadelphia. Even if they find a way to move him, they’re likely still going to be on the hook for most, if not all, of that contract. So the only answer is to hope this guy finds a way to fix what’s wrong with him. Because this team is going to continue counting on him into next season and beyond.

If Turner had even .30 higher batting average, it could have made a huge difference for this lineup. Obviously, defensively he is not one of the best in the game. But I’m not even worried about that at this point because it’s clear the Phillies aren’t. They won’t move him defensively because they don’t want to be known as a team paying $27 million a year for an outfielder or second baseman – at least up to this point. I’m not sure if this season changes anything moving forward, but I’d be pleasantly surprised if they decide to move him to the outfield. I mean, his arm fits right in with the prototypical Phillies outfielder, anyway.

Who knows what happens if a lockout hits, or how long it’ll be. But if there’s baseball next season, Turner will have to prove himself all over again as a legitimate lineup threat. If not, there’s no reason to keep him here long-term.