As Trea Turner powers Phillies, is his defense a trade deadline need?

PHILADELPHIA − By now, we all know the Phillies‘ three main issues: the right-handed power bat, the No. 4 or 5 starting pitcher, and a high-leverage reliever. And not necessarily in that order.

How about a fourth in a defensive-minded shortstop? Or at least someone to replace Trea Turner late in games.

It’s about time for the Phillies to start thinking about that even though Turner slugged the Phillies to a 10-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 20.

Turner hit two homers, drove in five runs among his three hits. And the Phillies needed every one of them because Turner was also charged with one error and booted two other balls that were ruled infield hits. In a foregone era in major league baseball, like five years ago, Turner would have had a three-hit and three-error night.

For the season, Turner has 15 errors, and three in four games since the Phillies returned from the All-Star break.

So yes, the Phillies might need to add a slick-fielding shortstop to their three glaring needs.

<1 / 21

<2 / 21

<3 / 21

<4 / 21

<5 / 21

<6 / 21

<7 / 21

<8 / 21

<9 / 21

<10 / 21

<11 / 21

<12 / 21

<13 / 21

<14 / 21

<15 / 21

<16 / 21

<17 / 21

<18 / 21

<19 / 21

<20 / 21

<21 / 21

After all, Turner is hitting .319 over his last 28 games, dating back to June 15, with 7 homers, 19 RBIs, and a .932 OPS. So it’s not like the Phillies can take his bat out of the lineup.

And at this point in the season, the Phillies aren’t going to put Turner in left field. That can be a discussion for next season. And they’re not going to put him at designated hitter. Not with Kyle Schwarber the full-time DH.

But the Phillies can sub Turner out late in games that they’re winning … if they make a deal for a defensive wizard at shortstop. If not, perhaps that’s Edmundo Sosa, the Phillies’ super utility infield sub.

Of course, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski won’t be able to address all of the Phillies’ needs by the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline. There are too many, and the farm system is not rife with prospects to deal for top players.

So the top priority has to be starting pitching. Cristopher Sanchez did his part, holding the Dodgers to 3 runs over 5 ⅓ innings. And in these measuring-stick types of games against the Dodgers, who knocked the Phillies out of the NLDS last season, it was good enough.

The top three pitchers, in fact, have been dominant for the Phillies. Through July 20, the Phillies are 42-14 when Sanchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesus Luzardo start. The three are 17-1 in the last 18 games. Combined, the trio is 31-9 with a 2.76 ERA.

Aaron Nola, the No. 4 starter, has a 5.68 ERA. The Phillies don’t have a No. 5 starter anymore after sending Alan Rangel down to Triple-A on July 20. Rangel has a 5.40 ERA after getting torched for five runs in four innings in the Phillies’ 6-1 loss to the Mets on July 19.

Incredibly, that’s the best of the fifth starters the Phillies have used this season.

They demoted Andrew Painter on June 17 after Painter pitched to a 7.06 ERA. The Phillies released Taijuan Walker when Wheeler debuted in late April after recovering from thoracic outlet surgery. Walker had a 9.13 ERA.

When the Phillies go to a No. 5 starter, or opener, they are 5-20 with a 7.33 ERA.

Because of the Phillies’ off-day on Thursday, they won’t need a fifth starter until July 25 against the Yankees. Phillies manager Don Mattingly said there are a few options. One is skipping the fifth starter and keeping Sanchez and Wheeler, who pitches July 21 against the Dodgers, on their regular rest in order to have both against the Yankees.

Another is to use a bullpen game against the Yankees and give Sanchez and Wheeler an extra day.

“We’ve talked about it. We’re not real sure,” Mattingly said. “We’ll see how everything comes out these next couple days and see where we go from there. In general, we like keeping those guys (in turn), giving them their rest. It’s not a situation where our depth is at a point where you can lose one of those guys.

“We need to keep them strong all year long. So we’re going to be careful with that.”

The other option is bringing Painter back to start Saturday. But Painter hasn’t pitched since July 10 in order to get some rest after posting a 6.39 ERA in three starts at Lehigh Valley. In fairness, Painter’s first two starts were good, but the last one was not.

After that, the Phillies can get by without a fifth starter until July 30. Then comes the trade deadline.

So trading for a No. 4 or No. 5 starter, depending on how you look at Nola, not only solves the fifth starter problem. It also preserves the bullpen to some extent.

That was the case against the Dodgers. Sanchez wasn’t overpowering. But he left with a 4-1 lead. Orion Kerkering gave up two hits that added two runs to Sanchez’s line. Turner certainly didn’t help with an error in the first, followed by two more that were ruled hits that he should have had. One ball went under his glove in the fourth, and he bobbled another in the sixth.

There was another hard-hit ball to him in the ninth that ate up Turner and was ruled a hit. That preceded Mookie Betts‘ second homer of the game, pulling the Dodgers to within three.

Then again, Turner erased those miscues with his two home runs. In the playoffs, however, pitching and defense win. So the Phillies might have to address another problem pretty soon.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the “Eye On The Eagles” newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles‘ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: As Trea Turner powers Phillies, is his defense a trade deadline need?

Advertisement