SAN DIEGO — Karl Keglovits got a phone call a few weeks ago from one of his former baseball teammates at North Carolina State, Johnny Piedmonte.
Piedmonte asked if Keglovits had heard the big news. He had not.
“It’s possible that Carlos and Trea end up in Philly,” Piedmonte said.
Keglovits could barely contain his excitement. Carlos — as in Carlos Rodón — and Trea — as in Trea Turner — had overlapped with Keglovits at N.C. State for two seasons. He’d closely followed their careers since, and now there was a chance they could play for his Phillies.
Keglovits was born and raised in Nazareth, Pa., and grew up going to games at Citizens Bank Park, watching Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, and Roy Halladay turn the Phillies into perennial winners. The idea of Turner and Rodón having a similar impact was tantalizing.
And the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Both free agents, who are in high demand as baseball’s winter meetings opened Sunday in San Diego, would fill the Phillies’ two main needs. Turner is an All-Star shortstop who hits with some power, can get on base, and makes the most of getting on base, stealing 27 bases for the Dodgers this past season. And Rodón is an All-Star starter who is coming off of a career year with the Giants, posting a 2.88 ERA with 237 strikeouts in 178 innings.
But Keglovits knew, from personal experience, that the addition of Rodón and Turner would provide far more than a workhouse on the mound and some pop in the lineup. When he was a freshman in 2013, he watched as the sophomore shortstop and pitcher — who were best friends and roommates — led N.C. State to its first College World Series appearance since 1968.
Together, they brought a blend of levity and accountability and an insatiable desire to win. One Halloween, Turner showed up to practice dressed up as Rodón, stuffing pillows underneath his jersey to mimic the pitcher’s physique. His teammates got a good laugh out of that. Rodón, in his quest to become a two-way player, would often take batting practice. His teammates got a laugh out of that, too.
But there were also days when Turner and Rodón set a more serious tone.
“They’d get on you anytime you wanted to take a shortcut,” Keglovits said. “Even during running drills. We’d be doing suicides, and if a player didn’t reach the line, they’d be like, ‘If you’re taking shortcuts now, what are you going to do when game time comes around?’ They gave us a healthy push when we needed it.”
Both players led by example. One night, Keglovits was giving his family a tour of the baseball facilities at N.C. State. When they reached the batting cages, he heard the sound of a player hitting off a tee. It was Turner, who was getting his swings in about 9 p.m.
“Trea takes pride in his hitting, and I think it’s because everyone sees him for his speed,” said N.C. State coach Elliott Avent. “They show his slides over and over and over. And I know he’s proud of that and he loves that as well. But Trea likes being known for who he is. He’s a great hitter. He’s a great shortstop. He likes to win.”
Years later, Turner is still known for his speed, but also for his offense. He is a career .302 hitter with a 122 career OPS+ coming off his first Silver Slugger season. Amid a Phillies lineup that features streaky hitters, Turner would add consistent production.
And Rodón would add some power from the left side. He ranked in the 95th percentile in strikeout rate this season, and in the 80th percentile in fastball velocity. He also threw a career-high 178 innings, which would take some of the load off the Phillies’ relief corps.
Keglovits, who now lives in New Hampshire and works in health care, knows that a number of factors could ultimately send Turner and Rodón to other teams. But he will be pulling for his former teammates to end up in red pinstripes, and not just because it will give him another excuse to return home.
When the Dodgers were at Citizens Bank Park in late May, Keglovits sent Turner a text message. His cousin, Eric Gubich, was a huge Phillies fan and was battling cancer at the time. Keglovits wanted to know if Gubich and his 6-year-old son could get on the field before a game.
Turner responded almost immediately.
“Yes,” he said. “Anything I can do to help.”
Gubich died in October at the age of 37, but passed his fandom on to his son, Parker. When Keglovits heard that Turner and Rodón were linked with the Phillies, he thought of the possibility of bringing Parker back to the ballpark someday, and maybe even introducing his nephew to his former teammates.
“That’s something I’ll never forget,” Keglovits said of Turner’s gesture. “Both of those guys, they always have your back. It means a lot.”
