Trea Turner is having a terrible season right now. The $300 million star is batting just .216 with a very low .594 OPS. This is the blunt reality for the Philadelphia Phillies. His numbers are even worse than his famous 2023 slump, when his OPS was .624. But interim manager Don Mattingly still trusts him and refuses to drop him in the lineup.

“It’s Trey. He’s always hit… he’s going to be a great player for us… I’m not giving up on Trey. I’m not moving him right now,” said Don Mattingly when asked about Turner’s spot in the team. However, not everyone agrees with Mattingly. Former MLB player and executive Ruben Amaro Jr. shared a very different opinion on The Phillies Show.

“Yes. He should not touch a baseball for three days… I would sit him and let him relax and let him watch baseball,” said Ruben Amaro on The Phillies Show.

Even with this advice, Mattingly continues to support Turner. Turner is going through one of the hardest times of his career. Yet, he still bats second in the lineup every single day. The manager has not even thought about giving Turner a short break.

“I really didn’t think about it today, so it really wasn’t a deliberation at all,” Mattingly said. The message from the dugout is simple: trust Turner to work through it with time and consistency.

Turner is going through the worst 70-game stretch of his career right now. His current .219 batting average and .598 OPS rank among the lowest for qualified shortstops in the league. Against left-handed pitching, Turner is hitting just .185 with a .529 OPS this season. And this slump has also started to affect his defense.

His defensive numbers have also slipped, with a -0.2 WAR showing the overall negative impact he has had with the team. It has turned into a stretch where both offense and defense are falling below his usual standard. That is why former MLB executive Ruben Amaro Jr. has suggested that a short break could help reset Turner’s season. He pointed to how Alec Bohm benefited from a brief mental reset earlier in the season.

Bohm returned stronger after a few days away and improved his production significantly at the plate. In June, Bohm is hitting .255 with 2 homers and 10 RBIs. But Turner’s history has shown a different pattern.

But Turner’s past shows a different pattern. During his bad slump in 2023, he did not take time off. Instead, he played through it. That year, he was hitting just .221 over 70 games. Fans gave him a standing ovation that season, and he responded with a strong finish at the plate. He ended that year with a much better run and regained confidence through consistent playing time. Mattingly is now following a similar belief-based approach by keeping him in the lineup daily.

But the Phillies have more to worry about than just his form.

The Phillies’ offense has been a horror show this season

The Phillies entered the season expecting postseason contention, but the offensive struggles are defining their entire identity. Despite a payroll above $300 million, the lineup ranks among the league’s worst.

Team batting average sits at .229, second worst in MLB behind the Padres at .217. The expectations were postseason, but results show that they could not even make the postseason, forget going deep.

When you look at the field, only the designated hitter (DH) is playing well. Kyle Schwarber is one of the only players hitting well every day. Many regular starters are struggling to get on base. To make matters worse, there are no great players in the minor leagues ready to come up and help. Even potential trades or position changes cannot fix the holes because there isn’t just one hole. Strong pitching performances from Wheeler and Sanchez have given the Phillies some push, but cannot fully mask offensive struggles.

They have played much better under Mattingly, going 21-10 in his first 31 games to jump back into the wild-card race. The pitching has kept the team competitive through this slump. But the major question that the Phillies will have to ask themselves is what happens if the pitching stops working?