"Bryce Harper was kind of a starter of that" - Trea Turner spills the beans on former 2x MVP's role in Phillies’ culture shift

The Philadelphia Phillies languished in the pre-Bryce Harper days from 2012-18, following several memorable seasons that resulted in a World Series title and five straight playoff appearances. The organization suffered through seven straight .500 or below campaigns, finishing no higher than third place in the NL East.

That all changed in 2019 when the front office moved to acquire Harper via free agency. Though a winning record wasn't accrued until 2021, the blocks were set to establish a foundation of success for the years to come.

Formerly teammates with Harper when the duo played with the Washington Nationals, Turner explained how the two-time MVP has played a huge role in the Phillies culture shift on Tuesday in an interview with the MLB Network's Harold Reynolds and Robert Flores in a "Hot Stove" segment.

"Bryce Harper was kind of a starter of that when he signed over here," Turner said. "Each year we've added some really good players and some really good guys. That's what got us here."

Turner then went into the recipe for success, which has seen the Phillies qualify for the playoffs in three straight years and win the NL East pennant last year.

"We hang out off the field together," Turner added. "We go to dinners. We compete at things. Ping pong, golf, whatever it is... Obviously, we've been with each other on the baseball side for a long time, but you build that friendship off the field. We joke around quite a bit. We're good at taking jokes and dishing it back."

"We got a lot of guys that have similar interests in the same points of their career which is a good thing too. When you have that type of core, it's easy to hang out and bring everyone along to say this is where we want to go, so let's do it together," he added.

All key contributors from last year's NL East-winning team return for 2025, along with some new additions, positioning the Phillies amongst the favorites to repeat as division champs and compete for another World Series title.

Trea Turner leading off would create more counting stat opportunities for Bryce Harper and Co.

Rumors are swirling out of Clearwater that the Phillies are highly considering moving Kyle Schwarber out of the lead-off spot and inserting Trea Turner into it to optimize the lineup's effectiveness.

Turner was asked about the potential move on Tuesday:

"We got a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things and we just want to win," Turner said. "So, we'll do whatever is asked of us. I don't think it's necessarily set in stone that I'm leading off, but for me, it's always been fun for me."

"I like scoring runs and think I can score with the best of them. When on the field and healthy, I can impact the game a bunch of different ways. So, if that's what they want me to do I'm happy to do it."

The adjustment, if made, would aim to leverage Turner's speed and on-base skills at the top of the order, creating more run-producing opportunities for power hitters like Bryce Harper and Schwarber further down the lineup.