Dave Dombrowski does not believe Trea Turner's struggles stem from playing in Philadelphia and not being able to handle the pressure of the difficult market and fan base.
"I always try to do that when you originally try to sign a player," Dave Dombrowski told Joe DeCamara and Jon Ritchie on Thursday's 94WIP Morning Show when asked if the move to a new city like Philadelphia is getting to Trea.
"I think it's very important to see who you think can handle certain cities in certain situations. When I was a youngster starting off, people you used to tell me there are three unique cities in Major League Baseball for a player to handle it and those three cities are New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Not every player can handle those situations. I think you do your homework on that situation beforehand...There's a love that's attached, but you also have to be able to take the boos. There have been players that I have turned away from. I think in Trea's case he's been in big cities, he's moved around, he's a great player, he's very intelligent, he's a hard worker. And so we tackled all of those things. I did not think he would struggle like this. You saw him in the WBC [World Baseball Classic], he was the best player on the field at that time period. It's just one of those, no matter who you are and how much work you do, when guys get into a slump at times it's hard to get out.
"It bothers him more than anybody else and all he does is just keep working and hopefully find that key that gets him going...I have confidence that's not the case [that playing in Philadelphia is the issue] with Trea, it's more of a struggle and then the mental approach of getting out of it."
Dombrowski added that he talks to manager Rob Thomson all of the time regarding the baseball and the main topic currently, of course, is Turner.
"The lineup decision, I always leave it up to the manager. But he kicks it around. We know he's a great player, hasn't played that way so far...He's very tough on himself.
"Of course you try to access any time of individual that you think can help...I do think, first and foremost...it usually comes through very hard work and just trying to find something. He has struggled with his swing on a consistent basis, he's chased more pitches this year. So it's getting a sound base in his lower half and trying to drive the ball. I know he works on it all of the time. Then you deal with the mental aspect of it and dropping him down I think was a good step for him. And you just keep trying to push the right buttons. Do you give him a day off, does he give him a couple more days off at some point?"
The 30-year-old shortstop signed an 11-year deal worth $300 million this offseason and everyone is now asking one question: What should the Phillies do with him?
Turner went 0-5 at the plate and then booted a ball in the bottom of the 11th inning on Wednesday night that would've ended the game and gave the Phillies an 8-7 victory. Instead, they would go on to lose in 12 innings, capping Turner's worst game of the season, a season he hopes to forget.
"Pretty disappointed, just I feel like, Obviously I'm the reason why we lost that game. Just frustrated," Turner said candidly after the game. "I only know one thing, just keep working and that's what I'm going to do."
Turner is now slashing .237/.291/.370, all career lows, with just 10 home runs, 34 RBI, 115 strikeouts, and 13 errors committed in the field.
His Win Probability Added for an Offensive Player (WPA) is now -2.0. His previous career-low for a full season was 0.9.
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