Opening Day 2025 is almost here, leaving Philadelphia Phillies fans excited to see what shortstop Trea Turner has in store for the MLB regular season.
Turner, 31, is entering the third season of the 11-year, $300 million contract he signed with the franchise back in December 2022. Although the star infielder's bat is still among the best at his position, Turner's defensive performance has been on the decline as Father Time continues catching up to him.
Aging players tend to attract more doubters as they get older and their skills decline. While Turner isn't an exception to the rule, he's recently made it clear that he won't let the haters get to him.
Phillies News: Trea Turner Aiming to Prove Doubters Wrong in 2025
In Wednesday's interview with The Athletic's Matt Gelb, Turner revealed that proving doubters wrong will be one of his top goals throughout the 2025 campaign.
"100%," Turner answered when asked if the doubt is motivational. "That’s just a competitor in me. I hate it when somebody says you can’t do something. I’ve always been like that... Obviously, it’s annoying. But if I just play better, they can’t say anything. Right?"
"Definitely still motivates me. Definitely still bugs me. But now it’s more personal with myself than it is about somebody else saying it about me."
As great as it is to hear that Turner won't let the doubters get to him, that doesn't change how his performance will be under the microscope more than ever this season. Gelb also wrote that even though "the Phillies did not seriously discuss a position change this winter," the club could move Turner to a different spot in 2026 if his infield work doesn't improve.
There hasn't been any doubting Turner's bat since he arrived in the City of Brotherly Love. Seeing 1,144 at-bats across 276 games so far, the three-time MLB All-Star has racked up 47 home runs, 138 RBIs, 72 walks, 49 stolen bases, a 6.4 WAR, and a .279/.328/.463 slash line.
While Turner's offensive performance has met expectations, the same can't be said for his defense. Not only is his .960 fielding percentage since joining the Phillies noticeably below his career average (.970), but the 40 errors he's committed in that time are his most in two years at any point in his career.
As disappointing as Turner's defense has been, Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson is confident that the former 2014 first-rounder can bounce back.
"He wants to show that whatever anybody thinks, he wants to prove that he’s deserving to be the shortstop for the Phillies... Nothing that I’m seeing is telling me he’s not going to be able to do that."Bobby Dickerson on Trea Turner
That's quite the ringing endorsement from a 59-year-old coach who's worked with his fair share of shortstops around the Majors for the last 14 years.
At the end of the day, the Phillies need Turner to be as productive on both sides of the ball if they want to win back-to-back division titles for the first time in over a decade. As it stands, Philadelphia holds the second-best NL East odds (+180) on FanDuel Sportsbook as spring training winds down.
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