Phillies reportedly sign veteran starting pitcher Spencer Turnbull

The Philadelphia Phillies have signed veteran RHP Spencer Turnbull to a major-league contract, according to Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The pact will have $2 million in guarantees, with an additional $2 million in incentives, per Heyman.

Turnbull was a second-round pick by the Tigers in 2014, when current Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was leading Detroit’s front office. So there is some level of familiarity here, even if Dombrowski was long gone from the Tigers organization by the time that Turnbull made his Major League Debut in 2018.

In parts of five MLB seasons with the Tigers, Turnbull is 12-29 with a 4.55 ERA and 3.82 FIP across 61 games, 60 of which were starts. The highlight of his time with the Tigers came when he pitched a no-hitter on May 18, 2021 at T-Mobile Park against the Seattle Mariners.

Turnbull went 1-4 with a 7.26 ERA in seven starts for the Tigers last year, but it was his first action back after missing the entirety of the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. For what it’s worth, over the relatively small sample size of 106 2/3 innings pitched, Turnbull posted a 3.46 ERA and 3.24 FIP between the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Presumably, Turnbull will open 2024 in the bullpen, which may put Dylan Covey’s job (and place in the Phillies organization) at risk. But he would seemingly join Kolby Allard as rotation depth if any of the team’s projected starting pitchers — Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sánchez — were to suffer an injury.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops…

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