Trea Turner enjoyed a career year with both the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers this season, but he was not voted among the finalists for 2021 National League MVP.
The three players being considered for the honor are Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper, San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and Nationals right fielder Juan Soto.
Harper put together his best season since winning the NL MVP Award as a member of the Nationals in 2015. The 29-year-old hit .309/.429/.615 with an MLB-best 42 doubles, 35 home runs and 84 RBI in 599 plate appearances (141 games), and posted the second highest WAR of his career at 5.9.
Tatis, in his first full MLB season, batted .282/.364/.611 with 31 doubles, an NL tying 42 home runs, 97 RBI and 25 stolen bases over 546 plate appearances (130 games). He tied for the second highest WAR among NL players (6.5) despite missing 32 games due to a left shoulder injury.
Soto continued living up to his reputation as one of the most feared sluggers in baseball as he hit .313/.465/.534 with 20 doubles, 29 home runs, 95 RBI and an NL-best 7.0 WAR across 654 plate appearances (151 games).
While each of the aforementioned finalists are deserving, it came as a mild surprise Turner wasn’t named among the three. The 28-year-old hit .322/.369/.521 in 96 games for the Nationals before he was sent to the Dodgers along with Max Scherzer in a blockbuster trade at the deadline.
Turner only improved with the move out West as he batted .338/.385/.565 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs, 28 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 52 games for L.A. Between contributions for both teams, he led all of baseball with 195 hits, won the NL batting title and compiled a career-best 6.5 WAR.
As the regular season was winding to a close, Walker Buehler lobbied for Turner to receive MVP consideration.
After a successful two-plus months with the Dodgers, Turner now is entering his final year of salary arbitration before potentially becoming a free agent at the end of the 2022 season.
Turner among 4 Dodgers named 2021 Silver Slugger Award finalists
Although he won’t be in the running for NL MVP honors, Turner is one of four finalists for the Silver Slugger Award at shortstop, along with Tatis, Brandon Crawford and Willy Adames.
The winners for each position will be announced Thursday at 3 p.m. PT on MLB Network.
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