Earlier this week, Rob Thomson expressed the idea that Trea Turner is slightly ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring strain that landed him on the injured list on September 8th. Thomson mentioned the possibility before Sunday’s game against the Royals, exactly a week since Turner suffered the injury in Miami.
The Phillies dodged a bullet with the severity of this injury to Turner, who had missed a little over a month with a hamstring strain in the opposite leg last season. He is eligible
to be reinstated from the IL as it stands today, but that’s not going to happen as he has not been deemed ready to play yet. The Phillies will need Turner if they want to achieve their goals in the postseason, as he’s put up a quiet MVP caliber season with a National League best .305 batting average and 6.7 fWAR that trails only Shohei Ohtani in the NL.
Philadelphia’s standing in the postseason picture allows them some leeway with how they want to handle Turner’s injury. They’ve already clinched not only a spot but a division title, with the only things remaining being a bye and home field advantage. If they wanted to, the Phillies could let Turner rest the final week and a half of the regular season and then ramp up before they play their first postseason series in either the Wild Card or Divisional round.
Keep in mind however that Turner took a long time to regain his form after returning from the injury last season, especially when it came to running the bases. He hit .343 with an .852 OPS and 10 stolen bases in 33 games prior to his injury last season. But he hit .277 with a .790 OPS in 88 games following the injury and only stole nine bases. It was clear that Turner wasn’t comfortable using his elite speed at its full power for a while after his return, opting to not even attempt to steal a bag when the opportunity arose. He finished with his lowest attempted steals (21) in a season since the shortened 2020 campaign when he attempted only 16 steals. Turner’s been much more aggressive this season, having stolen 36 bases on 43 attempts. In fact, those 36 steals are only ten behind his career high of 46 set in 2017 and are his most since 2018.
With that in mind, it’s possible that the Phillies could look to get Turner some real game action in the final couple of series of the season at Citizens Bank Park. It could serve as a tune-up and allow Turner to test out his hamstring and to shake the rust off of not hitting for over two weeks. If the bye is clinched, Turner could go almost a month without being in a game, as the NLDS does not start until October 4th.
So, should Trea Turner play again in the regular season? Would it be worth it if he’s cleared to let him take a few at-bats to get back into the swing of things, especially if a bye is coming? Or should the Phillies just shut him down until whenever they play their first game in the postseason?
