Why Thomson felt now was the time to move Trea Turner to 7th

Why Thomson felt now was the time to move Trea Turner to 7th originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

PITTSBURGH — Rob Thomson had considered moving Trea Turner down in the Phillies’ batting order for some time and finally did so Saturday afternoon, 104 games into an extremely disappointing first season in Philadelphia for the $300 million shortstop.

Turner was moved down to seventh against Pirates right-hander Quinn Priester.

“I think it was just time, just to let him breathe a little bit and relax,” the Phillies’ manager said. “He’s trying to do too much.”

Turner is hitless in his last 12 at-bats and ended Friday’s series opener batting .242 with a .294 on-base percentage. That’s as low as his batting average has been in seven weeks and as low as his OBP has been in more than a month.

This is a guy who hit .311 the last four seasons in nearly 2,200 plate appearances. The one thing that’s been consistent for Turner his entire big-league career has been the ability to hit for a high average. But it just hasn’t happened this season. He’s been constantly behind in counts and has missed plenty of hittable fastballs. He’s also expanded the strike zone more than ever before.

“I talked to him last night after the game and explained it,” Thomson said. “I think he understood. I think he’s disappointed, not because he’s hitting seventh but because he’s not producing like he expects himself to.”

Thomson reiterated that he feels the Phillies’ best lineup is with Turner swinging well and batting second. Turner hasn’t hit this low in his team’s batting order since July 25, 2018, his first full season in the majors.

“When I think he’s got his stroke back and he’s comfortable, then I’ll (move him back up),” he said. “I’ve said all along that our best lineup is when he’s in the two-spot. I just think we’ll produce the most runs that way.”

Nick Castellanos, who is in a huge slump of his own, took Turner’s place batting second. Castellanos is 10-for-80 over his last 20 games, hitting .125/.167/.200 with two extra-base hits, two walks and 30 strikeouts.

“I just hope he gets some pitches with Harper hitting behind him,” Thomson said, “get him back going again.”