On Sunday, it was revealed that the Philadelphia Phillies and former Detroit Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull had reached a one-year agreement. This strengthened the Phillies pitching staff.
Turnbull is a financially viable alternative for the Phillies, while the two top free-agent pitchers of the offseason, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, are still unsigned. According to reports, the 31-year-old has reached an agreement on a $2 million contract that includes performance-based bonuses, bringing the total contract value to $4 million.
If Turnbull can stay healthy, the newest member of the Phillies’ rotation might end up being a steal. With only 16 starts since 2020, the former Tigers pitcher, who made his Major League Baseball debut in 2018, has battled injuries in recent years.
In the upcoming season, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, Ranger Suárez, and Cristopher Sánchez are probably the Phillies’ starting five.
Turnbull is anticipated to begin the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley because backup options including Kolby Allard, Max Castillo, Dylan Covey, Nick Nelson, and prospect Mick Abel are already available.
Spencer Turnbull is well-known to President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski because the pitcher was drafted by the Tigers when Dombrowski was working in front office in Detroit.
Turnbull believes that his reunion with Dombrowski will lead to a new beginning in Philadelphia, but Dombrowski’s remarks from last month gave an idea of the rotation that the Phillies will need.
“I have a list of names and all that,” Dombrowski said to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber. “After they finish (waiting for) the promised spot in the rotation with another club, they can begin to look around and consider the possibility that there may be an opportunity to move up to Triple-A and fill that spot, since they might not have as much depth over there.”