End of an error? Dave Dombrowski puts shortstop Trea Turner on notice originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Earlier this week, Dave Dombrowski summoned Trea Turner to Citizens Bank Park for a face-to-face meeting.
Just five years earlier, Dombrowski had convinced Turner to come play shortstop for the Phillies on a mammoth $300 million deal.
Now, the team’s president of baseball operations was looking the 33-year-old player in the eye and putting him on notice.
“We were very clear,” Dombrowski said. “He knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him that’s really mandatory.
“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.”
Dombrowski’s directness when commenting on the Turner situation was the big takeaway from his annual end-of-season news conference Thursday. Dombrowski acknowledged that the news conference came later than usual – a full two weeks after the Phillies were eliminated by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs. He said he needed the time to address the team’s managerial situation – Don Mattingly, who posted a 79-55 record as interim skipper was retained on a two-year deal – and speak with players about what would be expected from them in 2027.
His message to Turner was so serious that he asked the player to fly from his Florida home to Philadelphia for a frank conversation that lasted two hours.
“Trea did not have a good year,” Dombrowski said. “He does not think he had a good season, offensively or defensively. He takes complete accountability.”
Offensively, Turner went from winning the National League batting title (.304) in 2025 to hitting .242 in 2026. Hitting first and second in the batting order, his on-base percentage plummeted from .378 to .297. His strikeout rate climbed from 16.7 percent to 21 percent. He led the majors with 507 outs made.
Turner’s struggles were equally notable in the field, where he tied for the major-league lead with 21 errors. By almost every metric, he was one of baseball’s worst shortstops. According to Fangraphs, he ranked a minus-17 in defensive runs saved, the worst mark among big-league shortstops.
Turner made a total of 40 errors at shortstop in 2023 and 2024, his first two seasons in Philadelphia. He tightened things up in 2025, recording plus-17 outs above average, according to Statcast measurements. But that number dipped to minus-10 (the bottom three percent of all defenders) in 2026.
In a game where strength up the middle is vital, the Phillies cannot live with that.
Dombrowski made that clear to Turner.
“He totally understands that,” Dombrowski said.
For now, Turner remains the Phillies’ starting shortstop. It is the position he wants to play. But, according to Dombrowski, Turner will have a short leash. He will have to show improvement as early as spring training to avoid being moved to second base or the outfield. The team would be willing to make a move on the fly while giving looks to Aidan Miller and Bryan Rincon, two minor-league prospects.
“We went through the scenarios,” Dombrowski said of his honest chat with Turner. “If you’re not playing well at shortstop in spring training and things don’t work in that regard … We do have a couple of young players. Will they be ready? I don’t know. And I don’t know what other additions we may make this winter. We needed to leave it, if he doesn’t play shortstop, he’s willing to do what’s best for the Philadelphia Phillies organization. So that’s how we left it. He’s determined to show us that he can play it, and I said, ‘You have to show it. You cannot play shortstop like you did defensively in ‘26 going into ’27.’ “
Essentially, as soon as spring training or whenever the team assembles to prepare for the 2027 season, Turner will be on an almost daily tryout for his shortstop job. That could create some pressure on the player.
“He’ll work hard and be open-minded and we’ll just have to make a wise decision on what position he plays,” Dombrowski said. “I can’t control the daily banter about what takes place. He’s not the first player I’ve been around (in a similar situation). Trea’s a smart guy. He knows he needs to get better, and I think he’ll deal with it. He’s got a long time to be here, but I think he still has it. The reason we signed him in the beginning compared to some others was not only was he a good player, we thought he had the ability to continue to be a good player for a long time because of his quick-twitch muscles, the type of athlete he is. He led the lead in hitting (in 2025). I was as surprised as he was by the offensive year he had this year. So, it’s up to us to try to fix all those things.”
The Phillies have 190 million reasons to want to see improvement from Turner, on both sides of the ball. He is signed for seven more years at $190 million. He negotiated a full no-trade clause when he signed with the Phillies, so there’s no moving on from him.
Turner will have two new voices trying to help him improve. The Phils fired Kevin Long on Wednesday and will have a new hitting coach in 2027. Infield coach Bobby Dickerson was also let go. He was quickly replaced by former New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza. In addition to overseeing infield defense, Mendoza will coach third base.
“Carlos will be responsible for working with Trea,” Dombrowski said.
Improvement must come quickly. If it doesn’t, Turner could find himself under the tutelage of Pablo Figueroa. He’s the team’s outfield instructor.
