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Phillies Move Kyle Schwarber to Leadoff and Slot Trea Turner Second

Don Mattingly calls the change a trial meant to give Turner a different feel to address the team's struggling offense.

Overview

  • Mattingly moved Schwarber to the top of the order and batted Turner second in the lineup in the game at San Diego, a decision made as a short-term experiment.
  • Turner entered the night struggling with a .221 average, .277 on-base percentage and a .608 OPS through 53 games but responded immediately with a Statcast-projected 434-foot solo home run, an additional hit and his 10th stolen base.
  • Schwarber brings a power-first leadoff profile to the top of the lineup and has a strong track record of first-inning home runs that the Phillies hope will change early at-bats for the club.
  • The move comes as Philadelphia sits near the bottom of the majors in team OPS and runs per game, and follows a managerial change earlier in the season when Don Mattingly replaced Rob Thomson.
  • Mattingly said he will monitor the swap before making it permanent and the key measures to watch are whether Turner sustains better contact and on-base rates and whether the new look yields more consistent run production.