MLB spring training: 1 bold prediction for every NL East team

Spring training has arrived. Here are five bold predictions (one per team) on the National League East, perhaps baseball’s toughest division.

Baseball is in the air. Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training in Arizona and Florida. Teams are sending out injury reports. Players are in the best shape of their lives. You can’t beat it.

Perhaps the most interesting division entering spring training is the National League East. The Philadelphia Phillies are coming off a World Series appearance and have only gotten better following the Trea Turner addition. The New York Mets spent more money than any team in baseball history this winter while the Atlanta Braves have arguably the best core group of young players in the sport.

What might the division look like in 2023? Here is one bold prediction for each NL East team this season.

MLB predictions: Philadelphia Phillies

Trea Turner establishes himself as best shortstop in baseball in 2023.

There’s a reason why the San Diego Padres offered Trea Turner a $342 million contract, which would have made him the highest paid shortstop in baseball history. Because he’s really, really good.

Turner, 29, ultimately signed a 13-year, $300 million contract with the Phillies — he took less because he wanted to be in Philadelphia — and the team is bound to reap the rewards. In eight seasons, he’s slashing .302/.355/.487 with 124 home runs, 434 RBI and 230 stolen bases with an .842 OPS.

Yet Turner still feels criminally underrated. But that won’t be the case after 2023, as Turner cements himself as the best shortstop in baseball, and forms a dynamic trio with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber that will keep the Phillies atop the National League playoff picture for years to come.