‘You’d look great in a Phillies uniform’: How Bryce Harper helped recruit Trea Turner to Philly
IN RECENT SEASONS, whenever Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper reached second base against the Washington Nationals — and then the Los Angeles Dodgers — he made a midgame recruiting pitch to an old friend. Harper knew Trea Turner was still a couple of years from free agency, but as long as his former teammate was within earshot, he wanted to plant a seed.
“For the last three years, he kept telling me, ‘We’re going to get you over here, we’re going to get you over here,'” Turner told ESPN in March. “It started as a joke, then as it got closer and [the Phillies] were in win-now mode, everything lined up. He was a big factor, for sure.”
Harper remembers the chatter on the basepaths. “Every time I’d see him at shortstop, I’d mess with him: ‘You’d look great in a Phillies uniform,'” the two-time National League MVP said.
Whether or not those whisperings were the difference-maker — Harper said he left Turner alone once his free agency actually started — the strategy paid off. Turner signed an 11-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies in December, reuniting with Harper. The two have yet to take the field together; Harper is still working his way back from offseason Tommy John surgery. But as Harper zooms through his recovery, it could happen sooner than later.
When he does, he’ll join a lineup that despite a slow start is second only to the Rays in the majors in hits; Turner’s 31, good for third-best on the squad, show how quickly he has settled in in Philadelphia.
“It’s definitely a lot better having him on this side than what I used to deal with,” Phillies catcher J.T Realmuto said. “He was never one of those players you ever looked forward to facing. He’s so dynamic and can impact the game in so many ways. He creates havoc and plays with power.”
WHEN TURNER HIT free agency as the top shortstop in a loaded class at the position, many experts predicted he would end up in Philadelphia — but he insists it was a tough decision.
“I didn’t want to be super-biased in any direction,” Turner explained. “Going through the process, I tried being as open as I could with everybody. I told teams, ‘Just be honest with me and I’ll be honest with you.’ It was a pretty hard decision. I had a few good organizations that I was dealing with. I didn’t really have one that I could eliminate pretty easily.”
While crossing off potential suitors proved difficult, there was one factor that helped Turner move Philadelphia to the top of his list: familiarity. He had played with Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Howie Kendrick, a special assistant to the GM in Philadelphia, during his time in Washington. Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long also was a former Nat. His experience with those players and coaches, along with years of road trips to the city, also meant that the Phillies didn’t feel the need to bring Turner in for a recruiting visit. Instead, they made a November trip to his Florida home.
“I don’t think we needed to meet to know that he would be a good fit,” Dombrowski said. “Enough people knew him well, but you do your due diligence. You don’t leave any stone unturned.”
At that point in the process, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Harper had gotten involved in the sales pitch in hopes of using his relationship to help bring Turner to Philadelphia. But he instead chose to give his former teammate space.
“I didn’t want to talk to Trea,” Harper stated. “I didn’t want to have any influence on what he was going to do. He was like three to four days away from signing with the team, and he finally called me and asked certain things about where to live and things like that. I told him to enjoy it and hopefully you make the right decision for your family.
“The city, the fans, they sold it for us last year,” Harper said. “I didn’t have to.”
It wasn’t just the idea of playing in front of the passionate crowds that packed Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park during last October’s playoff run that attracted Turner, though. Owner John Middleton’s endearing style — and willingness to open up his checkbook — also helped make the decision for him.
“He’s exceeded expectations for me,” Turner said of getting to know Middleton. “He’s been incredible. Seeing him around, shagging on the field and in the clubhouse, it doesn’t feel invading to us. Super unique and it’s in a good way.”
Harper had grown similarly close to Middleton during his own free agency four years ago, so the Phillies owner made sure Harper could be the first to give his old friend a congratulatory call as soon as a deal was struck.
“I think [Turner] was a little shocked because no one had found out yet,” Harper said. “It was a couple hours before it hit the news. I was pumped for him.”
BEFORE HE EVEN played his first game in a Phillies uniform, Turner put to rest any notion that he would just be Harper’s sidekick, thanks to a World Baseball Classic performance in which he outshined even the biggest names on Team USA’s star-studded roster.
“It was electric,” said Realmuto, who also played for Team USA this spring. “He won multiple games with his bat. Everyone knows about his batting average and speed, but he can hit for power as well. He can hit home runs when he needs to. He can affect the game in so many ways.”
Though Team USA fell one win short of repeating as champions, Turner led the tournament with five home runs, hitting .391, driving in 11 and compiling an eye-popping 1.483 OPS. It was his eighth-inning grand slam against Venezuela in the quarterfinals that kept Team USA alive during one of its toughest WBC contests. Back in Clearwater, where the Phillies train during the spring, they were all smiles watching their new shortstop put on a show for the world.
“A couple people in the organization sarcastically said to me, ‘Oh, that’s a good player you got, Dave,'” Dombrowski said with a laugh.
That power he showed off in the WBC was coaxed out of him by one of his new coaches. Known for his base-stealing ability, Turner took his game to another level when he added power to his repertoire under Long’s tutelage. He averaged 36 stolen bases in his first six full seasons and he has also averaged nearly 22 home runs a season over the past four years. Add in his on-base skills and ability to play multiple up-the-middle positions defensively, and there aren’t many players who can do as many things well as Turner can.
“That’s five tools right there,” Schwarber said. “He’s got it all. He’s got the power strike with the leg kick, then he can put his foot down and go two-strike approach. Put the ball in play and run. He steals bases. His defense is underrated. Glad we have him.”
Now that he’s settling into his long-term home, Turner believes his best is yet to come. Sure, a lengthy contract can create pressure — but it also allows an opportunity to focus on his game, without the stress of free agency looming.
“I have a lot more to offer,” Turner said. “I love the game. I take pride in it. I work at it. I have more to give. I don’t know what that is, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Likewise, fans across Philadelphia are looking ahead to a date in the not-so-distant future when they’ll see Turner and Harper in the same lineup. Whether the two can help the Phillies overcome a slow start and play deep into the postseason — as the team famously did a year ago — remains to be seen. But no matter how this season plays out, the duo is likely to spend the rest of their careers in the same uniform.
“It’s great to be together again to try to chase down a championship,” Harper, who is in the fifth year of a 13-year contract that runs through 2031, said with a smile. “He has an 11-year deal [through 2033], so hopefully I can get a couple more on my contract.”
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
On the penultimate day of the regular season, the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates met on a cloudy afternoon at Yankee Stadium for a game of little consequence. The Yankees had already clinched the American League East title. The last-place Pirates were 24 hours from another long offseason.
But the game featured an intriguing matchup within the matchup: two starting pitchers with vastly different backgrounds and histories who happened to be leading contenders for the Rookie of the Year Award in their respective leagues to the mound opposite each other.
For the Pirates: Paul Skenes, the hyped generational talent 14 months removed from college. For the Yankees: Luis Gil, a 26-year-old revelation two-plus years removed from Tommy John surgery.
Nearly two months after that meeting, the two right-handers were recognized Monday as the best rookies in their leagues. Skenes was voted the National League’s Rookie of the Year, beating out a loaded field headlined by outfielders Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio after posting one of the best rookie seasons for a pitcher in major league history. Gil edged out teammate and catcher Austin Wells and Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser to win the award in the American League in a tight race.
Skenes, who debuted less than a year after being selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, surpassed expectations in his first taste of the big leagues to become the second Rookie of the Year award winner in Pirates history (Jason Bay, 2004) with 23 of the 30 first-place votes. With the honor, he earned a full year of service time despite not being called up to the majors until May, making him eligible for free agency after the 2029 season.
“Our goal, first and foremost, was to make all my starts,” said Skenes, a former two-way star at Air Force who became a full-time pitcher his junior season at LSU in 2023. “And then, beyond that, it was basically to see the best version of me that I can be out there. So I felt very good about that this year. Stayed healthy and felt really good the entire year. And then the results, I think, speak for themselves.”
Skenes, 22, went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts across 133 innings. His 1.96 ERA was the lowest for any rookie with at least 20 starts in the live ball era, dating to 1920, and the lowest in baseball in 2024 among pitchers with at least 130 innings pitched. His 0.95 WHIP was tied for best in the National League. His 170 strikeouts were a franchise rookie record. His 4.3 fWAR ranked 10th among major league pitchers. With the performance, he was selected one of the three finalists for the NL Cy Young Award along with veterans Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler. That winner will be announced Wednesday.
On Monday, Merrill finished second with the other seven first-place votes and Chourio in third. Merrill, a shortstop in the minors through last season, was the San Diego Padres‘ starting center fielder on Opening Day at just 20 years old. He excelled in all facets, finishing the season with a .292/.326/.500 slash line, 24 home runs, 90 RBIs and 16 steals in 156 games while playing above-average defense. His 5.3 fWAR led all rookies.
Chourio, who doesn’t turn 21 until March, signed an $82 million extension last offseason before making his major league debut and, after a slow start, lived up to the investment. Chourio went on a tear after carrying a .201 batting average and .575 OPS through June 1, batting .305 with 16 home runs and an .888 OPS over his final 97 games.
In the American League, Gil tallied 15 of the 30 first-place votes, narrowly topping Cowser, who finished with 13 first-place votes and five points behind Gil. Oakland A’s closer Mason Miller and Cleveland Guardians reliever Cade Smith each earned one first-place vote. The five-point differential marks the second-closest election in an AL Rookie of the Year race since the three-player ballot was introduced in 2003.
“I was focused on having a good year, on helping the team win as much as I could and being focused on my career,” Gil said.
Gil entered spring training an afterthought in the Yankees’ plan, slated to start the season in the minors after being sent to minor league camp in early March. The Yankees had their starting rotation set. Gil had electric stuff but command was a concern and he logged only four innings in A-ball in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022. Then Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, was shut down because of an elbow injury shortly thereafter, opening a spot for Gil. He did not relinquish it.
Gil went 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts. He led all AL rookies in wins, innings pitched (151⅔) and strikeouts (171). His 1.82 ERA through 12 starts helped the Yankees navigate the club’s 2½ months without Cole to start the season and solidified his place in the rotation for the remainder of the season. He gave up one or fewer hits in five outings, tied for the most by a rookie since the mound was moved to 60 feet, six inches in 1893, according to ESPN Research. He didn’t giver up an earned run in six of his starts, the most by a Yankees rookie since 1913.
Signed by the Minnesota Twins out of the Dominican Republic in 2015 and traded to the Yankees three years later, Gil is the 10th Yankees player to win the honor. He is the first Yankee to win it since Aaron Judge in 2017 and the first Yankees pitcher since Dave Righetti in 1981. He is the fifth Dominican-born player to win the award.
“He worked so hard to put himself in a strong position heading into spring training after coming back from Tommy John surgery,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in a statement. “Without a guarantee of a major-league spot, he absolutely kicked in the door this spring and went on to have a phenomenal rookie season. Luis continued to mature and develop all year and was one of the pillars of our rotation.”
Unlike Gil, there was little doubt Skenes was a major league-caliber pitcher out of spring training, but the Pirates chose to not include him on their Opening Day roster. The rationale was simple: Skenes logged just 6⅔ innings as a pro in 2023 after he accumulated 122⅔ innings for LSU. So Skenes was sent to Triple-A for more seasoning and dominated on a limited workload. In seven starts, Skenes posted a 0.99 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 27⅓ innings.
Finally, on May 11, Skenes made his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs. He gave up three runs with seven strikeouts over four innings. He would give up three or more earned runs only twice more over his final 22 starts.
His first 11 outings were so dominant (1.90 ERA, 89 strikeouts to 13 walks in 66⅓ innings and seven no-hit innings in his final start of the first half against the Milwaukee Brewers) that he was named the starting pitcher for the NL All-Star team, setting the stage for an electric first inning in Arlington, Texas, against four of the sport’s best hitters. Skenes, the fifth rookie to ever start the exhibition, threw 16 pitches to Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. He walked Soto in an otherwise clean inning. He touched 100 mph and showcased his splinker — a splitter-sinker hybrid. The sequence, like every one of his starts, was must-watch television.
He pitched into the ninth inning for the first time as a pro in his first start after the All-Star Game, taking a hard-luck 2-1 loss against the St. Louis Cardinals after giving up a run in the ninth. But Pittsburgh, despite adding players at the trade deadline, fell out of the wild-card race down the stretch.
The Pirates, cautious to not overwork Skenes, had him pitch on extra rest — either five or six days — in all of his starts. But he logged at least six innings in 16 of his 23 starts. He threw at least 100 pitches in nine of them. He closed his season strong, giving up only two runs in five September starts. His final outing was brief but spectacular: Two perfect innings at Yankee Stadium, one of the sport’s grandest stages, opposite one of his most talented peers.
The goal next year? To pitch deeper into games more often from Opening Day.
“I think just being able to stay out there for seven or eight innings rather than five or six innings every outing, that’s going to be the biggest thing,” Skenes said. “We’re starting with the end in mind. We’re going to figure out how to do that.”
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
UMass has fired coach Don Brown, ending his second stint leading the program and the third overall, with two games to play this season.
Brown went 6-28 at UMass over the past two-plus seasons. He went 43-19 there from 2004 to 2008, reaching an FCS national championship game and a national quarterfinal. Brown, who grew up in the state, also served as UMass’ defensive coordinator in 1998 and 1999.
“I am extremely grateful to Coach Brown for returning to UMass three years ago to help us build back a program he once coached to a national title game,” athletic director Ryan Bamford said in a statement. “Don should have immense pride in the outstanding contributions he has made to advance Massachusetts football during his three stops in Amherst.”
Offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery will serve as UMass’ interim coach for the final two games, this week at No. 12 Georgia and then at home against UConn. Montgomery is the former head coach at Miami (Ohio).
Brown, 69, came to UMass after spending the 2021 season as defensive coordinator at Arizona. He also held coordinator roles at Michigan, Boston College, UConn, Maryland and other stops, spending much of his career in New England.
Bamford credited Brown for helping UMass, an FBS independent, earn conference membership again, as the school will begin play in the MAC in 2025.
Brown also was head coach at Northeastern (27-20) and Plymouth State (25-6).
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