Nats call up Trea Turner in hopes of boosting their disappointing season
Sitting at 60-60 entering play Friday, it’s hard to call the Washington Nationals anything other than a disappointment.
The once-World Series favorites have a tough road ahead to even make the playoffs at this point. They’re four games behind the New York Mets in the NL East and eight and a half back for a wild-card spot.
With postseason races getting more competitive by the day, the Nats have called up one of their most anticipated young players in hopes of getting a boost. Trea Turner, a 22-year-old shortstop who was picked in the first round of the 2014 draft, got his big league call-up Friday.
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Add him to the list of exciting young players to arrive in the big leagues this season. Like the Chicago Cubs’ Kyle Schwaber, though, Turner is a bit ahead of schedule. But Schwaber, a fellow 2014 draftee, has shown that bringing up a prospect early ain’t the worst idea. He’s hitting .303 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs in 38 games this season.
As for Turner, he doesn’t have that kind of power, but he hits for average and gets on base, two things the Nats could use. He was part of a trade last December with the San Diego Padres, who drafted him out of North Carolina State. In an odd turn of events, Turner had to stay with the Padres for part of this season because, as a first-round pick, MLB rules prohibit trading him until a year after the draft. So the Nats acquired Turner in June after he was in player-to-be-named-later limbo for seven months.
Across three minor-league teams this year, Turner is hitting .322 with an on-base percentage of .370. He’s hit eight homers, knocked in 54 runs and stolen 29 bases. The Nats are hitting .226 as a team since the All-Star break, the worst number in baseball. They’ve been without the injured Denard Span since early July, which is part of the problem.
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The question is where the Nats put Turner. They have Ian Desmond at shortstop, but he’s having a rough year, hitting just .227. He’s been better since the All-Star break, though, hitting .274. Desmond is a free agent after this season, so that’s Turner’s spot for the future. In Triple-A earlier this week, the Nats had Turner play second base, so there’s a possibility he takes the spot of Danny Espinosa, who is hitting .248, which is actually pretty good for him.
If Turner can hit, get on base and generate some runs, the Nats have to find a place for him. That’s exactly what they need right now as they try to avoid disastrous disappointment.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
