Phillies To Activate Trea Turner On Monday

The Phillies are planning to activate shortstop Trea Turner from the 10-day injured checklist previous to tomorrow’s sport in opposition to the Padres, supervisor Rob Thomson instructed reporters (together with Matt Gelb of The Athletic) earlier at this time. Turner has been on the shelf as a consequence of a hamstring pressure for the reason that starting of Could.

The return of Turner to the Phillies lineup ought to serve to additional bolster a workforce that has emerged as a juggernaut within the first half of the 2024 marketing campaign. The Phillies have stormed to an NL-best 47-23 report with glorious manufacturing on all fronts. They sport the third-best pitching employees within the majors this 12 months by ERA with a 3.11 determine that sits behind solely the Yankees and Orioles, whereas their 110 wRC+ on offense is tied for sixth within the majors with the Brewers. That they’ve managed to do all that with out their star shortstop for the previous six weeks is all of the extra spectacular, notably given the recent begin Turner bought off to previous to his harm.

In 33 video games previous to his journey to the IL, Turner was slashing an unbelievable .343/.392/.460 (145 wRC+) with 10 stolen bases in 11 makes an attempt. That prolonged stretch of success extends all the best way again to the All Star break of final 12 months. Turner had scuffled by way of his first half-season in a Phillies uniform with under common numbers throughout the board, however caught fireplace down the stretch to assist lead the membership to their second consecutive NLCS look. Since mid July final 12 months, Turner’s .309/.363/.522 slash line is nice for a 142 wRC+ that’s Seventeenth-best amongst all main league hitters and trails solely Mookie Betts, Bobby Witt Jr. Gunnar Henderson, Corey Seager, and Jose Altuve amongst center infielders.

That sort of manufacturing will certainly be a welcome addition to the Phillies lineup. Whereas the membership’s infield mixture of Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Edmundo Sosa have all carried out very nicely this season, including Turner’s potent bat again into the lineup ought to present a shot within the arm for the offense in Philadelphia. The return of Turner seems more than likely to come back on the expense of Sosa, who has carried out phenomenally as a fill-in at shortstop whereas the star has been on the shelf. Sosa has slashed a superb .280/.343/.512 in 138 journeys to the plate this 12 months, together with a .286/.348/.524 slash line since taking up the on a regular basis shortstop job whereas Turner has been injured.

That form of sturdy manufacturing is tough to take away from a lineup, though it’s price noting that Sosa has slumped within the month of June with a lackluster .216/.256/.324 slash in 39 journeys to the plate. With Turner re-entering the fold, Sosa figures to return to his bench position as a contributor across the infield as a backup to every of Bohm, Stott, and Turner. His sensational .340/.426/.723 slash line in opposition to left-handed pitching appears prone to earn him common enjoying time in opposition to southpaws even with the workforce’s lineup returning to full power.

Speculatively talking, Sosa might spell Stott, who has hit simply .250/.357/.333 in opposition to same-handed pitching this 12 months, at second base in opposition to some lefties or even perhaps work into the outfield combine, the place he has made transient cameos in each left and middle area throughout his time with the Phillies. The Phillies might want to transfer a place participant off their energetic roster tomorrow to accommodate the return of Turner. Of word, solely outfielder Johan Rojas has choices remaining among the many membership’s present bench combine, which additionally contains fellow outfielder Christian Pache and veteran utility man Whit Merrifield.