Trea Turner finally heads to Nationals system
After playing out the string with the Padres organization despite having been traded to the Nationals, Trea Turner is finally heading to the Nationals system.
By
Matt Snyder
•
2 min read
Shortstop prospect and 2014 draftee Trea Turner has finally been freed from the Padres organization. He had been stuck with the organization that traded him as a "player to be named later" on Dec. 19, but couldn't officially be named due to the rule that no drafted player can be dealt until a year after he's been drafted. My colleague Mike Axisa did a nice job of covering the complexities of this situation back in December.
Anyway, it became clear it was happening Saturday night, as Turner had left the Double-A San Antonio Missions:
just found out @treavturner heading to Harrisburg tomorrow. Best of luck and thanks for the performance. Fun to watch him play
— Missions Radio (@SAMissionsRadio) June 14, 2015
Turner was the Padres' first-round pick in 2014 out of NC State, but there's a new GM at the helm. That GM, A.J. Preller, traded Turner as part of a three-team trade that landed San Diego Wil Myers. But as far as the books said through Saturday, it's "a player to be named later" and not Turner. It was officially announced Sunday that it's Turner in the deal heading to Washington's system.
Turner, 21, hit .322/.385/.471 with 13 doubles, five homers, 35 RBI and 11 steals for San Antonio, which is remarkable under the circumstances. He had been playing out the string for an organization that no longer had any interest whatsoever in his development and he knew he was leaving at some point, but still went out and was incredibly productive. I think we can safely say there's some mental toughness there.
Let's also note that -- while I doubt any organization would be this jerky -- the Padres/Missions didn't have to play Turner everyday. They could have just had him ride pine, though, again, there are surely 29 other organizations that would have let the kid play.
Turner will soon join the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. If he keeps playing as well as he has, it's not out of the question to see him hitting Triple-A Syracuse this season. Let's keep in mind, too, that Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond is a free agent after this season, so the man that was ranked as the 65th best prospect in baseball could well be the starting shortstop for the big-league club as soon as 2016 (even if it happens later in the season and not on opening day).
For now, though, at least Turner is with the correct organization.
