Turner healthy for 2018, confident as everyday shortstop

It will be exciting to see what shortstop Trea Turner can accomplish after a season that was interrupted by injury.

Turner was limited to 98 games after missing all of July and most of August, yet still hit .284 and stole 46 bases.

One big question for Turner: How will he handle the regime change at manager? Turner valued his time with the experienced Dusty Baker.

"Unfortunate," Turner said of Baker's dismissal over the weekend at Nationals Winterfest. "I really enjoyed Dusty as a manager and the everyday conversations. He's a great guy and he did a great job for us, won 95 games, I think, back to back. It stinks. But we're trying to win a World Series and hopefully some of the experience that these new guys like Dave (Martinez) and Chip Hale bring us hopefully get us over that hump."

Turner struggled to a .143 average in the postseason, but said the National League Division Series loss is not doom and gloom that some might perceive.

"It's never as bad as everybody makes it seem," Turner said. "The last two years, we've been one game away from moving on, in multiple different games. I think all three losses in '16 were by one run, and I don't think we got beat bad in any of the losses this year. It's never as bad as it seems. You've just got to keep pushing, and eventually things turn."

Even with the broken wrist setting his season back, the 98 games was still a career high for the 24-year-old, and a chance to play shortstop every day. He learned a lot from playing at the spot at the top level day in and day out.

"Just how to slow things down," Turner said. "I felt like I was more consistent. Some of the errors I made were very easily fixed. I felt like I made more diving plays, just cause I was slowing things down and I felt like I had more time on a diving play than I thought. Previous years, I was learning my body and how to position yourself to make plays."

Turner arrived to the Winterfest media workroom with a smile on his face and a necklace of flashing Christmas lights. He said he feels good to go for 2018.

"I think I can change small things to make me feel better each and every day," Turner said. "But from an overall standpoint, I feel great. My wrist doesn't bother me, my hamstring doesn't bother me. Nothing that was bothering me last year is bothering me now. I feel really good, really refreshed."

The biggest question for Turner besides staying healthy is where the new manager Martinez will place him in the Nationals lineup: leadoff, second or further back?

"I've hit one and two, and surprisingly I've hit three most of my life," Turner said. "Not that I'm going to be hitting three, but I feel like those are three really different positions in the lineup. And I feel like I've done all of them. I know what's expected at each one of those, and I feel like you can take that experience away. Whatever day it is, if he changes the lineup, so be it. We'll move on from there. Our job is to play as best as we can. And if that means hitting one, two, three, then I'll do that at a high level in order for us to be able to win."

Will Turner be more patient at the plate? Will having Adam Eaton around take some pressure off him where last year he might have felt he had to do too much?

"I think it depends who's in front of you," Turner said. "I don't lead off the way people normally lead off. For me, it's about being the best hitter you can possibly be. I don't think that always entails slapping the ball the other way, bunting. But in the two-hole, you get more of those opportunities, and you need to be able to do that. I did that a lot when I was a kid.

"I felt like I batted two a lot in (Triple-A) Syracuse. But it also depends who's on first. If you have a faster guy that's stealing bases, then you've got to take pitches. If you've got a guy that's not stealing bases, then I don't know if it necessarily matters. I just try to be the best hitter I can possibly be. And I think that plays in all spots."

As far as stealing bases and taking advantage of his speed, Turner said he has spoken a bit to new first base coach Tim Bogar.

"I talked to Bogar a little bit, just to get his thought process," Turner said. "But he basically told me whatever works for me, he'll help me and we'll communicate with that. I haven't talked to him much more than that. But I think it's just a matter of being confident. I think that's one thing I took away from Davey (Lopes). He was always running no matter what, and he got mad at you if you didn't. I've told you guys that time and time again. It goes a long way, and I think that's kind of what I'm taking away from him, his aggression and confidence."