PHILADELPHIA — As the Philadelphia Phillies prepare for the postseason, attention is focused on Trea Turner’s recovery from a right hamstring strain suffered on September 7. Turner returned to the lineup for Sunday’s regular-season finale but did not fully test his speed, recording two groundouts and reaching a top sprint speed of 25.5 feet per second according to Statcast. This figure is well below his season average of 30.3 feet per second, which led all players.
“I knew if I was going to hit a ground ball somewhere, I wasn’t going to do anything stupid,” Turner said after the game. “[Sunday] was more about getting out there, just kind of feeling it again. More about seeing pitches and being on defense. I didn’t really get anything on defense, but the at-bats felt good. I knew if I hit something, I wasn’t going to be going crazy, like I could have.”
Turner expressed confidence that he will be able to perform at full speed when necessary in Game 1 of the National League Division Series (NLDS) on Saturday. “Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping for,” Turner said. “For sure.”
Phillies manager Rob Thomson noted uncertainty about how quickly Turner will return to peak form following his injury: “I think he was probably still recovering a little bit,” Thomson said regarding Turner’s previous recovery from a similar injury last year. “Also there’s kind of a fear in there — for everybody when they come back from injury… It’s always in the back of your mind. So hopefully we can get through that, and he’s 100% and runs 100%.”
Teammate Brandon Marsh also commented on returning from hamstring injuries: “I’d say there’s definitely a couple thoughts that go through your head, at least for me, before you do that first all-out sprint,” Marsh said. “But I think at the end of the day, the game’s going to dictate it. That ground ball the other day, you’re going to jog. But as we get going here in the playoffs, he hits that same ground ball, he’s going to try to beat that out and get after it.”
Turner’s ability on base has been significant for Philadelphia this season; he led Major League Baseball with 32 infield hits this year and has accumulated 76 such hits since joining the Phillies—the most in MLB over that period.
After becoming Philadelphia’s regular leadoff hitter on June 9, Turner’s presence correlated with team success; when he reached base at least once in a game, the Phillies had a record equivalent to a 98-win pace over a full season.
In addition to his regular-season contributions, Turner has demonstrated value during past postseasons as one of only ten players in MLB history with three multi-steal games in playoff competition—all achieved with Philadelphia over their last three postseason appearances.
The Phillies are monitoring whether Turner will regain his trademark speed as they enter October baseball.
“Once you get through the first one, it’s smooth sailing,” Marsh said. “It’s a lot of weight off your shoulders. It’s just like, ‘OK, I know I can run, I know I can be myself,’ so let’s do this.”
