Although Trea Turner has carried a hitting streak throughout much of September, the Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star shortstop has not produced at the level he is accustomed to.
Turner has hit .260 throughout the month, which is 29 points below his season and lower than a .302 career average. While that is an average many players would consider great, it has been frustrating to Turner, who has established himself as one of the game’s elite talents.
The 29-year-old has spent a lot of pregame work taking early batting practice on the field, which is something he hasn’t normally liked to do in his career.
Turner explained he was motivated to put in that extra work to try to get back to where he was last season when winning the National League batting title, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I’m trying to suck less. I just feel like I’ve created a lot of bad habits this year. Trying to make adjustments to get back to where I was last year. I feel like I’ve been making adjustments based off of my swing from this season, and now I’m kind of trying to make adjustments to get back to my swing from last season. I thought I was doing the right thing each and every day.
“It almost felt like I was doing well in my work, executing and preparing correctly, and then not feeling good in the game from a lot of different standpoints. So sometimes I feel like just swinging it out is what kind of helps me figure things out. Don’t love doing it, because it’s a lot of wasted swings almost, but sometimes I feel like I need to do it.”
While trying to make those adjustments, Turner has specifically been working on the mechanics of his swing. Once he has those down, everything else usually flows from there for him:
“Yeah. For me, a lot of things are mechanical. When I can do what I want, then my approach can be kind of what I want it to be and I can kind of mess around with that from at-bat to at-bat and pitcher to pitcher. But if my mechanics are off, then I feel like I can’t really do what I want.”
It initially appeared Turner found the adjustment he was looking for as he went 3-for-5, including a double, in the Dodgers’ loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. However, that was followed by an 0-for-5 effort that included three strikeouts in their win on Wednesday.
Will Dodgers re-sign Trea Turner?
Turner is set to be a free agent after the season and should be one of the most highly-coveted players available.
Turner and the Dodgers had preliminary discussions for a contract extension during Spring Training, but talks never gained much steam. Turner preferred to then focus on the regular season but is open to re-signing with the Dodgers in free agency.
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