Over the years, the Washington Nationals have introduced some great prospects during the season. We’ve seen Stephen Strasburg make a highly anticipated debut back in 2010, and Bryce Harper in 2012. Now, it’s Trea Turner’s turn.
Turner will be with the team tomorrow, taking over Ryan Zimmerman’s spot as the veteran third baseman is on paternity leave. Talk Nats Blog broke the news first on Twitter:
BREAKING: Source: Ryan Zimmerman headed to paternity leave & Trea Turner will take his spot on the roster. Nationals breaking news!
— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) June 2, 2016
Turner has shown improvement during his time in Triple-A. He’s got a .310/.376/.472 batting line in 2016, with three homers and 17 stolen bases.
With Trea Turner being called up… Here’s his AAA spray chart this year. Hitting the ball to all fields pic.twitter.com/0kyC5U4A5z
— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 2, 2016
Jeff Todd of MLBTradeRumors.com notes an interesting tidbit when it comes to his service time:
It’s important to note, too, that service time is no longer a compelling consideration for the team. After entering the season with 45 days on his ledger, Turner will not be able to tally a full season even if he remains active the rest of the way. That means that Washington can deploy him in the majors for all of this season while still controlling him through the 2022 campaign.
Now, this wouldn’t be Turner’s first time seeing the majors. Turner made his debut late last August, where he appeared in 27 games, hitting .225, and stealing a pair of bases.
The Nationals have been off to a good start this season (currently 33-21, first place in the NL East), and aren’t necessarily desperate for help, but it would certainly be a plus if Turner can show some promise in his second go-around in the majors.
