According to ESPN, Rob Thompson, the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, anticipates having star shortstop Trea Turner back on Monday against the San Diego Padres “unless something weird happens.”
Trea Turner hasn’t played for the Phillies since May 3 because of a strained left hamstring. The Phillies, who are 47-23 overall and eight games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in second place going into Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, have accumulated a significant lead in the National League East in the interim.
Turner had a scorching hot start in 2024, batting.343 in his 33 games prior to the hamstring injury, in contrast to his debut season with the Phillies in 2023. Turner will only be helpful when he returns to a lineup that is tied for sixth in MLB in terms of wRC+. With him back in the lineup, the Phillies may rank among the top five lineups in baseball, which is concerning considering the pitching staff’s performance thus far this season.
Fortunately for the Phillies, they haven’t been pressing for Turner to return because they have been playing so well. Philadelphia can concentrate on keeping healthy and adding some players before the trade deadline that will help in the postseason now that they have a commanding lead in the division. It also helps that Turner’s shortstop duties were so effectively covered by Edmundo Sosa.
Edmundo Sosa filled in nicely for Trea Turner
Thompson made sure to emphasize Edmundo Sosa’s value after this opportunity to replace Turner, giving him praise for the job well done. He’s enormous. I believe that he was viewed as a utility man by the baseball community over the past few of years. According to Thompson, via ESPN, “They’re looking at him like a shortstop now.” As a result of his excellent play, his worth is currently extremely high.
According to FanGraphs, Sosa is hitting.280 with a.343 on-base percentage, five home runs, and a 141 wRC+ on the season. It will be more difficult to get Turner playing time now that he is back, but Thompson hinted that he might see some outfield starts.
According to ESPN, Thompson stated, “There’s nothing wrong with getting him some outfield work if he’s not playing every day.” “Just to get him comfortable, just to see what it looks like.” It makes sense for the Phillies to want to give Sosa as many at-bats as possible given his bat-related abilities that he has demonstrated since Turner’s injury, so checking to see whether he can play outfield could be a wise decision. Additionally, it might avoid the need to trade for someone before the deadline, freeing up resources to support other team members. Still, the Phillies are pleased that Turner returned on Monday.
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