“We always talk about Trea being an MVP. I think he’s an MVP-caliber player,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “I think him playing defense is a big part of him becoming that guy, and I think he understands that. So he takes a lot of pride in his defense, and he wants to get better at it.”
Even with shakier defense than normal last season, Turner put himself in the MVP conversation with his bat. He finished with 78 hits, the most in the majors, during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign. Turner posted a .982 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, and he finished seventh in MVP voting.