Jun 13, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Trea Turner (7) throws to first against the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Trea Turner's defense has been an oft-discussed topic since he signed an 11-year/$300 million contract to join the Phillies in advance of the 2023 season.
Typically, the discussion around Turner's defense at shortstop has had a negative tone, but it unquestionably took on a positive one Friday evening as he had probably his most complete game in the field with the Phillies during an 8-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Turner's stellar evening was highlighted by a tremendous play in the top of the third inning that robbed Andrés Giménez of a base hit:
🎶🎶It’s still Trea Day 🎶🎶
pic.twitter.com/tfvxvu3Yuq
After the game, Turner was asked if he feels like he has some momentum in the field currently.
"Yeah, like I said I think the last time I talked about defense, I feel like I've played good all year for the most part," Turner said. "Obviously, there's a couple errors that are gonna happen here and there, and you try to limit those as much as possible. As far as defense for the season, I feel like it's been really good. Just trying to continue doing what I'm doing, and see where it ends up at the end of the year."
The two most-cited defensive metrics — which, admittedly, are imperfect — are divided on Turner's performance this season. He has minus-5 defensive runs saved. Considering he finished last season with minus-14 defensive runs saved, he might actually be on a pace to improve in terms of DRS this year. But minus-5 is still not good. However, Turner has one out above average this season. That comes after he posted minus-8 OAA across his first two seasons with the Phillies. So that is a noticeable jump.
If you're more traditional, Turner has a .979 fielding percentage, which is quite a bit better than the .962 mark he posted last year. The only problem with relying on fielding percentage — and this goes for all players, not just Turner — is that errors are given out much less frequently across the sport than they once were and probably should be. But even if you can argue Turner's fielding percentage could be a bit lower depending upon some 50-50 scoring decisions, there's no doubt he's improved in that area relative to his first two seasons in red pinstripes.
Perhaps the biggest issue for Turner has been that the miscues that he's had in 2025 have come at extremely inopportune times. The most notable example came when Orion Kerkering got William Contreras to roll what should have been an inning-ending groundout in the bottom of the seventh inning on June 1. The ball ate Turner up, allowing the game-tying run to score in a tilt the Phillies eventually lost 5-2.
The thing with Turner is he remains one of the most gifted athletes in the sport. Getting to balls hasn't been a problem since joining the Phillies. Fielding them cleanly and/or making an accurate throw to first base has been. But Friday's game was a reminder of how slick Turner can look in the field when he's doing those two things, and perhaps an indicator that he has improved over what he did defensively his first two years with the Phillies.
