Phillies president claims "Trea Turner struggled" in leadoff spot, cites it reason for Kyle Schwarber's move; open to exploring other options in 2025
When Trea Turner signed an 11-year, $300,000,000 contract with the Phillies in 2022, much was expected of the shortstop. However, many analysts and fans believe Turner has not met expectations, particularly in 2024, where he also showed defensive vulnerabilities at shortstop.
Speaking to the MLB Network from San Antonio, where he was to attend the MLB GM meetings, Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies' president of baseball operations, mentioned Trea Turner when asked about a possible lineup change.
"I'm real curious about [Kyle] Schwarber at the top and not Trea Turner, and I'm thinking you have the different ingredients to do a lot of different things. We watched the Dodgers flip [their lineup] with Shohei, flip Mookie, flip Freddie. Have you guys considered that or did you think about that at all?" Harold Reynolds of MLB Network asked Dombrowski. [3:05 Timestamp] "
The Phillies president replied that manager Rob Thomson has always explored options to enhance the lineup. He then shared why Schwarber was in the leadoff spot instead of Turner.
"When Trea [Turner] originally joined us, we put him at the top of the order. He's a natural leadoff-type hitter with his ability to be a good hitter and also to steal bases with his speed up on top. But then, of course, he struggled for that time period. So, we put Schwarber back at the top of the order, and he did so well for us that we basically stayed that way," Dombrowski replied [Timestamp 3:31].
"But I think going into this year, I am not sure what are we going to do but I'd have to say it's something that you always consider any type of options that you feel can enhance your run scoring."
Schwarber was terrific in the regular season, scoring 15 homers from the leadoff spot, breaking Alfonso Soriano's record of 13. However, it didn't translate to the postseason, where the Mets knocked the Phillies out in the NLDS.
In the end-of-season press conference, Phillies manager Rob Thomson addressed the situation of the leadoff hitter. Despite Schwarber's exceptional slugging, base stealing was a vulnerability for the designated hitter.
As such, Thomson shared he is open to moving Schwarber from leadoff. The manager also revealed he wanted players like Trea Turner to focus on contact hitting rather than looking for homers.
Ex-Phillies GM thinks a Trea Turner trade can help land Juan Soto
Phillies are not among the favorites like Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, or Blue Jays to acquire Juan Soto's services in free agency. However, being one of the superteams in MLB, some speculate Philadelphia has an outside chance to land the Dominican superstar.
The main things standing in the way for the Phillies are Bryce Harper and Trea Turner's contracts, amounting to $60,000,000+ annually. In this scenario, ex-Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. pointed a way, albeit with low probability, that Soto could play for Philadelphia.
Amaro Jr. suggested a move for Turner to the San Francisco Giants as a way for the Phillies to acquire Soto. The idea came from the thought process of Giants' past failures to land big names. Even though the Giants have better odds than the Phillies to land Soto, very few believe Soto will play for San Francisco.