The Philadelphia Phillies, at the beginning of September, faced a dire situation when shortstop Trea Turner appeared to hurt his hamstring during a game against the Miami Marlins.
Some of the initial fear was that it was a season-ending injury. Fortunately, it wasn't expected to knock him out for the rest of the year, and he could potentially return during the regular season.
Weeks after the hamstring strain, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the Phillies are "thrilled" with Turner's recovery, and that they're increasing his workload as he could potentially return during the Phillies' final series against the Minnesota Twins.
Phillies 'thrilled' with Trea Turner's recovery progress
"The Phillies are thrilled with the shortstop's progress," Gelb writes. "He's continued to increase his activities while they were on the road."
Not only has Turner increased his activities, as he'd been seen fielding grounders at shortstop, but he's also set to face live pitching from a trio of Phillies minor leaguers - Tommy McCollum, Andrew Walling, and Daniel Harper - in the final week of the regular season.
While a return during the Phillies series against the Marlins isn't likely, a return to face the Twins is within the realm of possibility for Turner. Considering the initial fear, it's some incredible news for the Phillies and Turner.
He's a huge component of the Phillies' offense and defense, as he's one of the better fielders in baseball this season, and is also the NL leader in batting average at .305 with an NL-leading 179 hits with six games to go.
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His .815 OPS is the highest it's been since coming to the Phillies, and he's been an integral part of the team on the cusp of earning a first-round bye.
With World Series aspirations, the Phillies' best chance to win it all includes Turner leading off for the team in October. As great as Harrison Bader has been, the offense isn't the same without Turner in the lineup, leading off for a potent Phillies offense.
Getting Turner back for the postseason would be massive, and with this report from Gelb, the All-Star shortstop could be back by the end of the regular season as well.
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