Trea Turner wows with wheels, shows that maybe Nats don’t need CF help

1:19 AM ET

WASHINGTON — With the trade deadline approaching, there has been a lot of buzz about the Washington Nationals’ searching for a center fielder. They might not have to search very far.

In an 8-1 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday, rookie Trea Turner electrified fans in DC by hitting a sixth-inning triple and then stealing home. Despite swiping 87 bags in 310 professional games, Turner said it was the first time since college that he heisted home.

As for the triple, he has been logging those a little more frequently. In fact, the three-bagger was the second in two days for Turner, who now has 10 triples in 90 games between the minors and majors this season. What made Wednesday’s triple so thrilling was that it came on a line drive to left field — as in, the field that’s really close to third base and the one you’re not supposed to be able to hit a triple to, especially not a line-drive triple.

Turner did just that. Because that’s what you do when you have more wheels than a wagon mechanic. He reached a max speed of 22.4 mph, according to MLB Statcast, which was the third-fastest speed on any of the 522 triples that have been hit in the majors this season. The fastest? That’d be the 22.7 mph that … wait for it … Turner clocked during his three-bagger on Tuesday. With giddy-up like that, it’s no wonder the Nats are inventing ways to get Turner onto the field.

A shortstop by trade and the team’s top prospect heading into the season, 12 of Turner’s 14 career starts have come at second base, including all six of his starts this season. Since he was called up right before the All-Star break …

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