Major League Baseball

Phillies shortstop Trea Turner: 'I've sucked' this season

Updated May. 23, 2023 4:35 p.m. ET

The Philadelphia Phillies signed Trea Turner to fortify their infield and help build on a National League pennant. To date, the latter has been a struggle, as the Phillies are 22-25 — good for fourth in the NL East — while their prized offseason addition has been in a season-long slump.

"I'm honest with myself, I've sucked," Turner bluntly told ESPN after the Phillies' 6-3 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night.

Turner has totaled just four home runs and 11 RBIs, while sporting a .256/.303/.390 batting line this season. This would mark career lows in batting average and OPS since Turner became a full-time starter for the Washington Nationals in 2016.

Philadelphia inked Turner to an 11-year, $300 million contract this past offseason. He was one of four All-Star shortstops to get a sizable payday, including Xander Bogaerts (11 years, $280 million with the San Diego Padres), Carlos Correa (six years, $200 million with the Minnesota Twins) and Dansby Swanson (seven years, $177 million with the Chicago Cubs).

Over the previous seven seasons, Turner established himself as one of the best players in MLB, averaging 18 home runs, 62 RBIs and 33 stolen bases per season with a .303/.356/.489 batting line. He's a two-time All-Star and a one-time Silver Slugger who won a batting title, as well as the 2019 World Series with the Nationals. The 29-year-old shortstop was with Washington from 2015 to 2021 before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers midway through the '21 campaign.

Turner is focusing on righting the ship but stresses that he can't lie to himself about his struggles at the plate.

"Every at-bat, every play, every game is another day to try to do better and try to be the player that I know I am," Turner said. "If you harp on yesterday, or you harp on the last at-bat, it's just going to snowball on you, you're not going to be able to turn it around.

"So I'm honest with myself. I tell myself straight, and I don't lie to myself. I think I'm a positive guy. I think I can always do better and can always be better. That's the attitude I have, but at the same time, I know when I don't do something right."

Shortly before the season began, Turner put on a show in the 2023 World Baseball Classic; he totaled five home runs and 11 RBIs, while posting a .391/.440/1.043 batting line across just six games. Turner's standout moment came when he hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth inning of Team USA's quarterfinal win against Venezuela.