Trea Turner is one of the most dynamic players in baseball and he has brought a spark to the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup with his blazing speed and baserunning ability.
The All-Star infielder stole 21 bases in 96 games for the Washington Nationals before getting traded to the Dodgers at the deadline. Since that point, however, he has only swiped nine bags in 39 games despite being given the green light from manager Dave Roberts to run at will.
“I base a lot of that off the score of the game, the situation, whether or not you can read the pitcher well and who’s behind the plate, Turner recently explained of his baserunning approach. “I take a lot of things into consideration. Sometimes staying put is the best thing.
“Having a pitcher worry about you on first base as opposed to stealing a base and getting into scoring position sometimes is a good thing to let those guys hit some pitches behind me.
“I run to try to get myself in better position to score runs. That’s what I care about: scoring runs, not stealing bases. You never know when you can go first to third, or score from first on a hit, so you’ve just got to be ready for anything.”
Turner has scored 26 runs with the Dodgers, including one where he came across from first base on an infield single.
Meanwhile, Turner’s latest stolen base came in Saturday’s win against the Cincinnati Reds, which gave him one in three of the past four games.
“I want to be more aggressive,” Turner said after the win. “I think at times I can go but I play it safe. Just want to be more aggressive in general and if it’s there, then try to take it and get in scoring position for those guys behind me.”
Turner, Lux speed burners
While Turner’s ability to make an impact is well-documented, Gavin Lux can provide a similar dynamic with his speed. Lux’s resurgence since getting recalled has helped lengthen the Dodgers
lineup, and Roberts hopes it can lead to a nice combination with Turner.
“It just seems like Trea’s been a little more aggressive on the basepaths, which is good. I want to encourage him to continue to be aggressive and trust his instincts,” he said.
“And Gavin can really run, so when given the opportunity, I definitely like that speed component. We’ll get Mookie running some more, so it just kind of adds a different dimension to the club.”
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