When the 2027 MLB season begins, Trea Turner will again be at shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies. On Thursday, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Turner will open next season at shortstop, but will need to play well to remain at that position. Dombrowski also said Bryce Harper will move back to first base next year.
"He did not have a good year. He needs to fix things with his swing. He knows he has to be better at shortstop.
I told him that is mandatory. I told him he cannot play shortstop like he did in 2026 going into 2027," Dombrowski said about Turner (via NBC Sports Philadelphia). He's played (outfield) before.
He prefers playing the infield but we'll wait and see if he can improve there, and if not we can discuss moving him out there." Turner, 33, had the worst season of his career in all phases in 2026. He hit .242/.297/.378 in exactly 700 plate appearances, numbers that are comfortably below league average, and his shortstop defense was poor. That was according to both the eye test and the numbers: 21 errors, minus-17 defensive runs saved, and minus-8 outs above average.
You needn't look back far to see the last time Turner was a comfortably above-average hitter and defender. He finished fifth in the NL MVP voting in 2025 and was great on both sides of the ball. This past season was the first time in Turner's career that performance was an issue.
He had been one of the game's most consistently excellent players since arriving for good in 2016. This is a bad offseason to need a shortstop. The best free agent shortstop is likely Mauricio Dubón, who is more of a super utility guy than an everyday player.
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