Looking back at how Mike Rizzo stole Trea Turner from the Padres
In his long tenure as Nationals GM, Mike Rizzo has made plenty of great transactions. Whether it was Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps swap or the Gio Gonzalez trade, Rizzo has a tendency to find good deals. However, there is one deal that stands above the rest. An 11 player, three team deal, where the Nats ended up being the only satisfied party in the end.
Of course, I am referring to the Trea Turner trade, or as it was referred to at the time, the Wil Myers trade. As we all know, there is a reason we call it the Trea Turner trade now. While Myers had some nice years in San Diego, Turner became a superstar, and the greatest player to be named later of all time.
Trea Turner was the Padres first round pick just months before, in the 2014 draft. However, with AJ Preller going on one of his great shopping sprees, he made Turner available. In a three team deal with the Rays, Preller got young Rays star Wil Myers.
Myers was the AL Rookie of the year in 2013, before struggling with injuries and ineffectiveness the following year. However, Preller still saw the 23 year old as a future star. The trade made sense for the Padres, even if it ended up biting them in the end. Myers made an All-Star team, and posted 12.2 WAR with a 112 OPS+ across 8 seasons in San Diego.
The team this trade made no sense for was the normally savvy Tampa Bay Rays. Why didn’t they want Trea Turner and Joe Ross? Why did they value Steven Souza Jr. so highly? The return of Steven Souza, Jake Bauers, Rene Rivera, and Burch Smith is far worse than what the Nats got. People at the time knew this as well. Turner was a freshly minted first round pick and top 100 prospect, while Souza was a 25 year old who had just made his MLB debut. Joe Ross was also pretty highly touted and had a promising future.
It was one of those trades where you knew the Nats had won the deal from the outset. That feeling was vindicated as Ross raced through the system, and was an impactful starter in 2015. Ross was excellent in 2015 and 2016, posting a 3.52 ERA across 181.2 innings over those two seasons. Injuries would ultimately derail his development, but Ross was a solid pitcher when he was healthy for the Nats. He also performed admirably in a surprise World Series start when Max Scherzer hurt his back. Ross has now settled in as a quality swingman. Ironically, he joined Trea Turner with the Phillies this offseason.
Turner had to stay in San Diego for the first half of 2015, due to an archaic rule where a draft pick had to stay with a team for a year. It must have been painful for the Padres to watch Turner hit .322 with an .856 OPS for their double-A team knowing he was a National.
At the end of the 2015 season, Turner would earn a September call up, appearing in 27 games. After performing well in triple-A in the first half of 2016, he got the call to replace a struggling Ben Revere in center field. He was not a natural center fielder, and that showed up sometimes, but he was the spark plug the Nats needed. Despite playing just 73 games, he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.
Turner hit .342 with a .937 OPS, 13 home runs and an astounding 33 stolen bases. He was an absolute joy to watch thanks to his otherworldly athleticism. Trea caused absolute panic whenever he was on the move. Seemingly routine plays turned into infield singles. He also had the power to do damage and punish mistakes. Trea Turner proved to be an absolute revelation.
We all know what happened from there. Turner became a great shortstop from 2017-2019, before taking it to another level in 2020, where he established himself as an MVP candidate. With the Nats sliding out of playoff contention, Mike Rizzo decided to move Turner to LA in a trade that has been far less successful than the first Trea Turner trade. Trea then signed an 11 year 300 million dollar deal to join Bryce Harper in Philly.
In an 11 player deal, Trea Turner proved to be by far the best player. Mike Rizzo convincing San Diego to part with him, while simultaneously getting Tampa to agree to re-route Turner to DC was a masterstroke. Trea Turner could have easily been a Tampa Bay Ray, but Mike Rizzo found a way to fleece two GM’s in one trade.