Trea Turner will remain at shortstop, unless he doesn’t

Jul 27, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) warms up against the Miami Marlins before the game at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images Jul 27, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) warms up against the Miami Marlins before the game at loanDepot Park.

Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — If you were waiting for the moment in president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s year-end press conference Thursday where it was announced that Trea Turner’s time at shortstop was over, it never came. However, there was much more acknowledgement than there has been in the past about the need for Turner to be better at shortstop.

And while Turner remains the shortstop today, that doesn’t mean that at some point this offseason or during the 2027 season there couldn’t be a pivot. Dombrowski made this clear during a meeting at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday with Turner, some of the details of which he talked about this morning.

“From a defensive perspective, we are very clear — he knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him that it’s really mandatory that he’s like that,” Dombrowski said. “He feels he can play, and if he plays shortstop like he did in ’25, he can play shortstop.

But if he plays it like he did in ’26, he can’t. He totally understands that.” Turner had an incredible rebound season in 2025, posting two defensive runs saved, 16 outs above average and just eight errors across 1,216 1/3 innings at shortstop. However, in 2026, he was much closer to the guy who struggled mightily at shortstop during his first two seasons in red pinstripes.

Across 1,343 innings at shortstop for the Phillies in 2026, Turner committed 21 errors, while posting minus-17 defensive runs saved and minus-eight outs above average. Just about any way you slice it, he was one of the worst defensive players in baseball this past year. It’s fair to say that the struggles Turner had at shortstop this past year contributed to the Phillies moving on from Bobby Dickerson as their infield coach.

Dombrowski announced in the press conference that not only will former New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza join Mattingly’s staff as the third base coach in 2027, but also the new infield coach. Perhaps a new voice will help Turner. For now, he’s the shortstop, Dombrowski confirmed.

“At this point, but we’ll see,” Dombrowski said. “We’ll see what happens at this point. It’s up to him to show us that we can do it, and we’ll see what happens.

But we’ll have fallback opportunities. Some of them may come back for the young players that we have.” The question will become what happens if (or when?) Turner struggles defensively in 2027. Because of labor strife, we don’t know if they’ll be anything resembling traditional Spring Training in Clearwater.

There may not be enough time in whatever lead-up there is to the season for him to sink. But this arrangement could set up a scenario where every time Turner makes an error in 2027, he and Don Mattingly have to answer questions about whether this is the final straw before he’s moved off of shortstop.

“I think in Trea’s case, he’ll work hard, he’ll be open-minded,” Dombrowski said. “We’ll just have to make the wise decision in that regard, depending on what position he plays. I can’t control the daily banter about what takes place.

He’s not the first player I’ve ever been around that has surrounded that. He’s a smart guy, he knows he needs to get better, and I think he’ll deal with it.” Dombrowski did also mention that Turner still has a long time remaining on his deal. Even though he’ll play next season at 34, he has seven years remaining on his deal.

The Phillies chose him over Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson in part because they believed he would age well. Athletically, he’s still really good. Many of his issues — both in the field and at the plate — seem to be more mental.

It’s clear that in giving Turner one final chance to stick at shortstop, they’re trying to keep this relationship in a good place. If Turner was only signed for one more season, perhaps the Phillies would have just told him he’s moving to another position. Still, Dombrowski spoke highly of both Aidan Miller and Bryan Rincon, both natural shortstops, Thursday.

Whether either is ready to be in the majors on Opening Day, they both aren’t far off. So even if Edmundo Sosa were to depart in free agency, the Phillies feel like they’ll have the ability to pivot if things don’t pan out at shortstop with Turner in 2027. As for what position Turner would shift to if he was moved off of shortstop, there’s been a presumption by some that he would go to the outfield.

He has played center field, although not since 2016, when he was 23 years old. Left field could be a softer landing spot. But it sounds like Turner might prefer to stay in the infield if he’s moved off of shortstop, which would point to second base.

“Well, he’s played there before,” Dombrowski said of the outfield. “He prefers the infield, I would say, other positions. So I would think it’s something that he’s a good athlete.

I think he can adjust appropriately, but we’ll wait and we’ll see what happens.” Read More Phillies Content From OnPattison 10 potential free agent targets for Phillies from teams recently eliminated from postseason Here’s how much the Phillies 9 arbitration-eligible players are projected to make in 2027 Phillies had ‘strong interest’ in Raúl Ibañez, but he chose to stay at current job Exec predicts Alec Bohm will have ‘strong market’ in free agency Report: Alex Cora declines chance to manage Phillies in 2027 What 2026 Phillies won’t be back in 2027?

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