Being more athletic is ‘a big difference’ for the Phillies, starting with their dynamic duo up the middle

In early September, before a Sunday game in Milwaukee, Rob Thomson sat back and pondered the vastly different composition of the Phillies roster compared with 18 months ago.

“You think about where we started off last year, the start of the season, and how much more athletic we are right now than we were then,” the manager said. “It’s really impressive. And it’s for the future, too.”

To make his point, Thomson ran down a list. He cited J.T. Realmuto, who last year became the second catcher ever to slug 20 homers and steal 20 bases in a season and is signed through 2025. He named young outfielders Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, and Cristian Pache, and utility infielder Edmundo Sosa, all of whom were acquired in trades or added to the 40-man roster since the middle of last season.

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Finally, Thomson got to Bryson Stott and Trea Turner. The Phillies have existed since 1883, and never — until they signed Turner as a free agent in December and paired him with Stott, who made his major league debut last year — did they have a shortstop and second baseman who swiped 25 bases apiece in the same season. Entering the weekend, Stott had 29, Turner 28.

Dave Dombrowski called it “circumstantial,” but it isn’t entirely coincidental. In 33 months on the job, the Phillies president of baseball operations has churned the roster with moves big (re-signing Realmuto; adding Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and Turner in free agency; a deadline trade for Marsh) and small (depth moves for Sosa, Pache, and others). In many cases, the goal was to become more dynamic.

It shows up in several ways. The Phillies’ stolen-base total has risen from 77 in 2021 to 105 last season and 129 this year (through Thursday). Their extra-base rate, defined as how often they advance more than one base on a single or two on a double, is up to 42% from 39% last season. They were the worst defensive team in baseball in 2021 based on defensive runs saved (minus-54). They have saved nearly 20 more runs in each of the last two seasons.

Most significant, check the records: From 82-80 and out of the postseason for a 10th consecutive year in 2021, the Phillies won 87 games and the National League pennant last season. Entering the weekend, they were on pace for 89 wins and on the cusp of clinching the NL’s top wild card.

“I don’t think there’s any question we’re much more athletic,” Dombrowski said. “It’s pretty obvious based on what you’re seeing in that regard. We’ve got more athleticism, defense, speed. I think those are always things you’re trying to accomplish.”

As one NL scout put it this week, “When in doubt, be athletic. It’s huge. Fits [the Phillies] to a tee.” As another said, “It’s been a big difference for them.”

It’s evident at every up-the-middle position, from catcher to center field. But it’s especially notable in the middle infield.

For two players who are knocking on the door of 30 steals, Turner and Stott don’t have many in-depth conversations about baserunning.

Unless you count the trash talk.

“We definitely talk about who has more [steals] and competing,” Turner said. “I’ll usually ask him, ‘Am I beating you yet, or no?’ Because he knows all the numbers.”

Don’t be fooled, though: Turner’s well-informed.

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“I give him crap,” he said, “because he’s gotten thrown out, I think, twice?”

Bingo. And Turner?

“Has he even been thrown out yet?” Stott said through a smirk that betrayed any ignorance that his double-play partner is, in fact, 28-for-28 (and 33-for-33 dating to last September). “I don’t think either of us know exactly how many each other has. But when he’s on first, I kind of want him to steal to see how fast he actually is.”

Middle-infield tandems with the ability to change a game on the bases are exceedingly rare. Since 2003, only two shortstop-second baseman duos swiped 25 bases apiece in a season: Adalberto Mondesi and Whit Merrifield for Kansas City in 2018; Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler for Texas in 2011 and 2009.

It’s been a minute since the Phillies had anything like this. In 2009, Jimmy Rollins swiped 31 bags and won a Gold Glove, while Chase Utley went 23-for-23 in steal attempts and placed eighth in NL MVP voting. In 1974, Larry Bowa and Dave Cash swiped 39 and 20 bases, respectively, and were both named to the All-Star team.

When Dombrowski took charge, the Phillies had Jean Segura at second base and re-signed Didi Gregorius to play shortstop. They liked the combination. Segura, entering his age-31 season, averaged 27 steals per year from 2013 to 2018 and graded as an above-average defender at second after spending much of his career at shortstop. Gregorius, also 31, was no worse than average defensively and brought left-handed power.

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But their declines were swift, and in Gregorius’ case, precipitous. Injuries were a factor, too. But Segura and Gregorius represented the Phillies’ opening-day middle infield in 2021 and 2022. And despite batting only .210/.263/.304 and struggling defensively, Gregorius started at shortstop in 41 of Thomson’s first 53 games after taking over as manager last season.

“We had very good offensive players up the middle with Didi and Jean Segura when I came on board,” Dombrowski said. “Now, Didi ended up being in a position where he was more at the end of his career. He used to be that type of player, but he reached that [end] point.”

The Phillies released Gregorius last August after Segura returned from a broken finger and moved Stott from second base to his natural shortstop. From that point through the end of the regular season, the 2019 first-round pick batted .286/.338/.418.

More than ever, the Phillies’ intentions were clear. Never mind that Segura notched the hit that keyed the ninth-inning comeback in Game 1 of the wild-card series without which a World Series run wouldn’t have happened. Stott’s progress, coupled with a star-studded shortstop free-agent class led by Turner, spelled the end of Segura’s Philly road.

“We had to make a decision, and it was just a situation, his athleticism isn’t the same as it used to be,” Dombrowski said. “[Segura and Gregorius] were both very athletic players that were really good players. It’s just that they got to that stage of their career, and we looked at being in a position where we could make some adjustments.”

The timing was fortuitous. In baseball, the rules of engagement were about to change.

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Before the season, MLB instituted a slate of new rules, including a pitch timer, the elimination of extreme defensive shifts, and bigger bases, all with the intention of adding action to a sport that had grown increasingly stagnant.

For the most part, they have worked.

Entering the weekend, there were a total of 3,303 stolen bases. It will be the most thefts since at least 1999 and only the third time in the last 20 years that more than 3,000 bases will have been swiped. Batting average nudged upward to .249 from .243 last year and .244 in 2021. And with more balls in play, porous defense is more costly.

More than ever, teams are trying to get younger and more athletic. The Phillies took the latter quality, in particular, into account when they assessed last winter’s free-agent shortstop class. All signs pointed them to Turner.

“All those guys are good players,” Dombrowski said, referring to Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, and Dansby Swanson. “They all have some sort of athleticism. But we thought Trea’s the most athletic of the group.”

Stott has another description for Turner.

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“I don’t know if graceful is the word, but when he’s sliding and moving around, his body control is pretty insane,” Stott said. “He does stuff that I don’t think I’ve ever seen. It looks like he’s going to fall over sometimes, and he throws a perfect throw right to the first baseman’s chest.”

Turner’s defense has been inconsistent, grading out as below average at shortstop. But like everything else about his season, it has gotten better over the last two months.

His presence has also shifted Stott to second base, where he ranked second entering the weekend with 16 outs above average.

“He probably should win the Gold Glove,” Turner said, also acknowledging the Cubs’ Nico Hoerner. “I kind of wondered if he still wanted to play short when I signed here, but he’s told me, ‘No, I like second base.’ He’s taken pride in it. He knows he provides real value there, and he’s shown it all year. He’s just a good baseball player. The maturity, the want-to, the skills, the baseball IQ, the athleticism, everything.”

Up the middle, in particular, the Phillies are more athletic than they’ve been in years. It’s no wonder they’re also better.