Speedy shortstop Trea Turner, who signed with the Phillies Monday, may benefit from the bigger bases … [+]
In rating the available baseball free agents, USA TODAY Sports Weekly placed Aaron Judge first, Carlos Correa second, and Trea Turner third.
The Philadelphia Phillies obviously agreed, handing Turner an 11-year, $300 million contract with a full no-trade clause.
That deal, announced Monday at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego, breaks up a logjam of star shortstops that also included Correa, Dansby Swanson, and Xander Bogaerts.
Turner, 29, is a speed-plus-power package who spent last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He inherits the Philadelphia shortstop job, with incumbent Bryson Stott shifting to second to fill the void created by the departure of veteran Jean Segura.
The Phillies surprised the baseball world last season by working their way to the World Series as a wild-card team, knocking off the favored St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and San Diego Padres in successive series.
They then lost to the Houston Astros in six games.
A two-time All-Star who twice led the National League in stolen bases, Turner has twice topped 40 steals in his career. He could do so again in 2023, when the bases will be enlarged after a decision by the Official Rules Committee.
In 2021, his best year, Turner led the NL with a .328 batting average.
He hit .298 for the Dodgers last season but reached 100 runs batted in for the first time. He had 21 homers and 27 steals.
Kyle Schwarber, an unlikely leadoff man last year, will hit lower in the lineup now that fleet Trea … [+]
Philadelphia spent most of last year deploying slow-footed slugger Kyle Schwarber at the top of the order. That is virtually certain to change now that Turner has joined the fold.
The 6’2″ right-handed batter had long been mentioned as the team’s top target on the free-agent market, though the Phils had also considered Dansby Swanson, Xander Bogaerts, and Carlos Correa, the star shortstops who remain on the open market.
The signings of Turner and pitcher Justin Verlander, who joined the New York Mets earlier Monday, put pressure on the Atlanta Braves, who will be seeking to extend their best-in-baseball five-year streak of consecutive division titles.
The Braves, Mets, and Phillies all reached post-season play in 2022 but only Philadelphia reached the final round.
Atlanta’s main winter goal is to retain Swanson, a Georgia native, or find a solid replacement. Turner would have met that requirement.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschlossberg/2022/12/05/phillies-give-free-agent-shortstop-trea-turner-11-years-at-300-million/