Trea Turner introduced by Phillies

The Phillies introduced new star shortstop Trea Turner at a press conference on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. 

“We just pictured ourselves here,” Turner said of he and his wife Kristen. “I pictured myself in this uniform, she pictured living here and having family come and visit. We pictured playing with Bryce [Harper] and [Kyle] Schwarber and a lot of the guys on the team now. 

“It seemed like a lot of things added up and pointed us in this direction. We were excited about it. This place is fun to play in. I watched a lot of the playoff games, and this place was rocking.”

Philadelphia finalized an 11-year deal with Turner on Thursday, which a source told MLB.com is worth $300 million. Turner was presented with a No. 7 Phillies jersey — the original number he wore with the Nationals, as opposed to the No. 6 he wore with the Dodgers over the last two seasons.

“We’re very happy to add, to me, one of the best players in Major League Baseball,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “I can’t believe the number of times I’ve had people — not only now, but over the last few years, and for me, in my career — saying, ‘Jeez, the most exciting player in baseball I ever watched is Trea Turner. Is there any way you can make Trea Turner a Philadelphia Phillie?’ And fortunately, we’re at that spot to where we’re able to do it.”

The reigning National League champs will add Turner to the top of an already dangerous lineup that includes Harper — Turner’s teammate on the Nationals for his first four big league seasons from 2015-18 — NL home run leader Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos, Alec Bohm and more. 

Turner got to watch the Phillies’ run to the World Series in 2022, and he liked what he saw. It’s one of the reasons why he picked the Phillies.

“It was a big factor for sure. Playing on a winning team was really important, and an organization that wants to win championships, for not just one year but a long time.” Turner said. “To go along with that, you’ve got to perform. You’ve got to live up to those standards, and the boys did that last year for sure. They were playing really good baseball at the end of the season. It looked not only fun for the players, but for the fans. It seemed like there was kind of that family aspect, and they were in it together.

“That was more what jumped out to me, was how much fun the players were having, and the fans, together. You could hear it through your TV, how loud the stadium was. I’ve played here many, many times, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen it like that. And rightfully so. Making the World Series and playing that time of the year is really important, and really fun.”

Where will Turner hit in that loaded Phillies lineup? He said he’ll leave that up to the team. The two-time league stolen base leader could lead off, where the power-hitting Schwarber has been, or bat second or third as he’s done in recent seasons.

“I will say, I did get a phone call this morning from Kyle Schwarber, and he asked me the same question,” Turner joked. “And I hadn’t thought about it much, but you guys have a pretty good leadoff hitter — we have a pretty good leadoff hitter — in Schwarber. I don’t know. He stole a lot of bases last year. … He’s kind of coming around there. So I don’t know if I want to kick him out of there. I don’t know what it may be, but I think it’s gonna be fun playing in this lineup.”