On September 7, Philadelphia Phillies slugger Trea Turner suffered a right hamstring strain against the Miami Marlins. After hitting a ball in the seventh inning, Turner went to make his way to first base, only to stop in his tracks and motion to the medical staff.
He was immediately removed from the game, and tests revealed that his strain was a Grade 1 strain, which was a relief. This is the mildest of the strains, and the team originally thought it would be much worse.
Turner was placed on the 10-day IL and missed three weeks of the season before being activated for the club's final regular-season game. He is also playing in the Phillies' intrasquad charity event on Wednesday.
Phillies' manager hopeful Trea Turner will be at full strength for the NLDS
Luckily for the Phillies, they have secured a first-round bye. They have the luxury of resting players, like Trea Turner, ahead of their upcoming series over the weekend.
Turner's performance could make or break the club in October. He is a sparkplug in the lineup, and manager Rob Thomson is hopeful he will have no restrictions during the NLDS, via MLB.com's Paul Casella.
"I think he was probably still recovering a little bit," said Thomson. "Also there's kind of a fear there – for everyone when they come back from injury. ... it's always in the back of your mind. So hopefully we can get through that, and he's 100% and runs 100%."
Turner's biggest advantage comes on the basepaths. Being the fastest active player across the MLB, Philadelphia will be in a much better position going into the NLDS if opposing teams' pitchers are worried about Turner stealing a bag off them.