Why The Phillies Won’t Trade For A Trea Turner Replacement

Trea Turner stormed out of the gates in 2024 with a .343 batting average and an .852 OPS in his first 33 games. The Philadelphia Phillies finally saw the player they signed to a $300 million contract entering the 2023 season. However, Turner suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out an estimated six weeks.

Pat Gillick faced a similar problem in 2007 when Chase Utley took a pitch to his right hand just days before the MLB Trade Deadline. The eventual World Series GM acquired Tadahito Iguchi to plug in at second base.

Will Dave Dombrowski look for a similar plug-and-play in the middle infield? He already has, actually.

The Phillies signed Whit Merrifield to a short-term contract to begin spring training. It seemed like a practical depth move to bring in a versatile position player for insurance behind a lineup with some potential platoon players and an unproven Johan Rojas.

Merrifield hit .284 and stole over 200 bases in eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays, primarily as an everyday player.

However, a slow start to his first season in Philadelphia raised some questions. Merrifield hit three singles only in his first 28 at-bats in 2024. The tendency of analysts to point out his All-Star appearance in 2023 seemed hollow. He didn’t have a strong second half, and MLB All-Star appearances aren’t the most accurate overall measure of a ball player to begin with.

Was a 35-year-old over the hill? Merrifield looked like a candidate to join the “Cup of Coffee Phillies” list on 97.5 The Fanatic.

Whit Merriefield went hitless in three at-bats on April 15. The Phillies squeaked out an ugly 2-1 win helped out by a fortunate call at home plate that kept the Colorado Rockies from tying the game.

All wins count the same in the standings though. The Phillies launched off after a tight win against an MLB bottom feeder as the first of 18 wins in a 21-game stretch.

Their veteran platoon man has started to come around. He’s 11 for his last 31 since the 0-3 performance against the Rockies. He’s looking more like the player Dombrowski signed just in time for his opportunity with the injury to Trea Turner.

Edmundo Sosa and Kody Clemens will also get some additional innings during Turner's absence. However, neither infielder has anywhere close to the same track record as an everyday player as Whit Merrifield.

Bryson Stott will also slide back to shortstop occasionally, where he played most of the 2022 season, to allow Merrifield to play his natural position at second base.

Rob Thomson spoke about his accomplished utility man on May 6 after a victory against the San Francisco Giants.

Speaking of Iguchi, his name came up on The Phillies Show this week.

Gillick’s deadline addition hit .304 in 45 games to finish the 2007 season with the National League East champions. He played an everyday role for the first month while Utley sat. He later moved into a bench role after the everyday second baseman reentered the lineup.

Iguchi famously slid into home on Utley’s walk-off hit in an August thriller against the New York Mets that helped the historic NL East comeback.

What did the Phillies send to the Chicago White Sox for a lineup regular with .278 and .281 respective batting averages in his only two full MLB seasons? Michael Dubee, pitching coach Rich Dubee’s son, a Single A pitcher who ultimately never made it to the major leagues.

Why would Chicago GM Kenny Williams make that trade? It makes a little more sense in the big picture. The Phillies also acquired Freddy Garcia from the White Sox the previous offseason. Landing an expected ace was a big part of the reason Jimmy Rollins spoke so confidently about “the team to beat” in the NL East.

Garcia pitched 11 games in his only season in Philadelphia. The injuries that kept him off the mound very well might’ve existed before the trade.

According to Gillick's former assistant GM, The Phillies essentially picked up Tadahito Iguchi as an apology from Kenny Williams and the White Sox.

The history of the franchise might’ve unfolded differently without the unexpected deadline gift.

Would the Phillies have hung in the race during Utley’s absence? Would the incredible chasedown of the Mets have ever happened? Would the 2008 Phillies have won the World Series without that eye-opening playoff sweep in 2007?

It’s a fascinating case of the butterfly effect. Stay tuned to see if the acquisition of Whit Merrifield brings that kind of fortune to the Phillies.

The Philadelphia Phillies will play nine full series on their schedule during the month of May. Five of them will come at Citizens Bank Park. The other four will come on the road.

The early months of the past two seasons haven’t been kind to Philadelphia. However, Rob Thomson’s squad has reversed the narrative.

The Phillies enter the month of May after one of the best Aprils performances in franchise history because of their ability to take advantage of a weaker schedule. They swept lesser opponents in the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox before traveling west to do the same to a more formidable San Diego Padres team.

The May 2024 schedule includes three National League East rivals. The Phillies and the New York Mets will play consecutive series with two games apiece at each respective team’s home park. It will provide a nice tune-up before the MLB London Series in June.

The Washington Nationals will host their former star Bryce Harper, and the Miami Marlins will look to stay afloat against a World Series contender in what’s been a disastrous start to 2024.

The Toronto Blue Jays might not have Joe Carter anymore, but they still provide a good draw in Philadelphia. The defending champion Texas Rangers will also visit the City of Brotherly Love.

Road series include trips to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Giants and a Memorial Day Weekend set at Coors Field in Denver. 

The Phillies will also face the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park for one game on May 31 in the first game of a weekend series that stretches into the month of June.

The Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park after a 10-game road trip for an extended weekend set. The uncommon Friday-Monday schedule includes the featured game on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

Fans also receive the ironic Alec Bohm “I Love This Place” t-shirt on Saturday.

Gabe Kapler had been the storyline in recent Phillies-Giants series, but veteran skipper Bob Melvin replaced him this offseason.

The Giants added reigning NL Cy Young Blake Snell during spring training, but the Phillies will miss the nasty lefty during an IL stint.

The Blue Jays have a good developing group of core players led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. They’ve cracked the playoffs in three of the past four seasons.

The strangely controversial Hatfield Phillies Franks BOGO Night (NOT Dollar Dog Night) will draw a crowd for the two-game set in Philadelphia.

What percentage of the home crowd is passionate enough to hold a grudge against the visiting Jays for a fateful series loss 31 years ago?

The Phillies will get back on the road for a weekend set in Florida on May 10. The Marlins have had a disastrous start to the 2024 season that’s buried them in last place in the NL East.

Speculation surrounding Jesus Luzardo and other potential trade chips will draw more attention than the ballclub this season. A World Series hopeful team like the Phillies should push themselves to dominate a last-place team like the Marlins.

The Mets have impressively stayed in reach in an NL East race with two elite teams like the Phillies and Braves at the top. First-year manager Carlos Mendoza has squeezed some wins out of a flawed roster.

The Phillies play the front half of a four-game series at Citi Field before returning to Philadelphia. It’s the only matchup between the two division rivals before the MLB London Series on June 8 and 9.

The Phillies will make the quick drive south for the second half of the four-game set. Another New York franchise recently dominated a Philadelphia venue.

Mets fans have shown up at Citizens Bank Park in recent seasons with big numbers and passionate noise in regular-season matchups. Will they follow the precedent set by the Knicks fan base at the Wells Fargo Center?

The Nationals made it through the first month of the season with a respectable record. Many MLB analysts picked them to finish at the bottom of the NL East, but they’ve at least kept pace in what looks like a powerhouse division in 2024.

Strong starts from CJ Abrams and Jesse Winker deserve some recognition. However, the Phillies have an unquestionably stronger roster than Washington.

The defending World Series champs will travel to Citizens Bank Park for their only matchup against the Phillies in a three-game weekday set. Corey Seager didn’t get off to his strongest start in 2024. Fellow centerpiece Adolis Garcia has helped the Rangers linger toward the top of the AL West.

The Phillies will close out the homestand with two night games and a Businessperson’s Special on close-out day.

The Phillies dominated the hapless Rockies in Philadelphia in an April sweep. Weaker opponents on the early-season schedule provide an opportunity for a playoff contender to build an advantage at the top of the standings. That’s not easy to do with the regular-season juggernaut Braves in the mix.

A Memorial Day Weekend series in Denver offers the chance for a trip to one of the most beautiful downtown ballparks in the majors, if you have the means.

The series at Citizens Bank Park in early May gives both teams an opportunity to learn the competition. The Phillies will travel back to the Western time zone for the final full series of the month.

San Francisco will return the favor of uncommon start times. They’ll play two afternoon games in the City by the Bay. Monday’s game will start at 5:05pm EST, and Wednesday’s game starts at 3:45pm EST.