The Tigers announced they’ve placed right hander Spencer Turnbull on the 15-day injured list retroactive to May 7 with neck discomfort. As Evan Woodbery of MLive explains, Turnbull had been optioned to Triple-A but this move means his option has been rescinded and he’ll spend time on major league IL. Had Turnbull reported the injury at Triple-A, he would’ve gone on the minor league injured list and not earned any big league service time, but his service time clock will continue while he’s on the Tigers’ 15-day IL.
Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports that Turnbull met with president of baseball operations Scott Harris, manager AJ Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter after his last start when the Tigers optioned him back to Triple-A Toledo. “After Spencer left the room I got a call from him directly in which he disclosed some neck discomfort,” Harris said. “As soon as we heard that, we set up an appointment for him with our doctor. We also had him see a specialist out of state. We had those doctors discuss what’s going on with his neck. They confirmed the injury and we placed him on the injured list as of Sunday.”
Turnbull is two seasons away from free agency, but if he spends more than 35 days in the minor leagues he’ll have his free agency year pushed back by a season. Once a promising young member of the Tigers rotation, Turnbull has struggled in his first season back from Tommy John surgery, working to a 7.26 ERA in seven starts. That figure comes with a 16.6% strikeout rate and a 10.3% walk rate.
Just two years ago Turnbull tossed nine starts of 2.88 ERA ball and appeared on the verge of a breakout, but after Tommy John surgery ruled him out of the entire 2022 season it appears he’s yet to find his groove again. His strikeouts are down, walks are up and he’s given up a lot more hard contact this year than he did two seasons ago.
Because this transaction replaces Turnbull being optioned five days, there is no corresponding move to make, while it’s also worth nothing that Turnbull’s IL placement is retroactive to May 7, so he could return in just a handful of days.
When your about to be optioned out, then report an injury everyone’s going to be suspicious. That’s what the players have a union for. Getting to free agency means lots of money for a healthy pitcher today, and one who’s going over 30 before one free agency it’s very important. You look around and see Boyd getting 10 million, and think there go I if I’m a free agent.
Spending another year of service or being injured is a no brainer. The Tigers don’t have the pitching either way it falls for Turnbull this year anyways. They had about 17 or 16 different starters last year, and some will make their way back to the active roster eventually so there will be guys dropped. As with any other job or profession we can all understand Turnbull’s actions.
The last Boyd start sent the fans back to reality FAST. The Tigers can’t be expected to extend E rod either as he just out pitched Verlander, who while it was his first start this year still makes 3 times as much as E rod. The Tigers with their lovable bunch of castaways can’t be expected to hit at the rate they have been in all reality. The Tiger pitching is not good enough to make it over .500, so the quicker they move E rod the better the return to them.
Yes everything sucks, ignore all the evidence to the contrary, and keep pushing a tired narrative. Tigers are easily a .500 team. Certainly not a contender yet but not the rebuild candidate the trolls keep insisting they are.
.500 ? Really ? They just went on a tear when they were 7 games under .500, and played fantastic baseball. 15-10, that was outstanding baseball. Still after today they are 4 games under .500. They are improving, but they are not there yet. Next year they’ll get at least 3 more new bats. They are improving so that’s a real positive.
Yes .500. They’ve actually played a pretty tough schedule to start the season and a few games under after a month. They are heading into a stretch where they will play some legitimately bad teams. They should be .500 or above at the end of May. Also, the pitching is actually pretty deep. They had all those starters last season because of injuries, not because they were looking for someone decent. Again, still have gaps, especially on offense, but also have a lot of young players that will get better with experience. Took Kelenic 3 seasons to finally click and was hitting much worse than either Greene or Tork.
Exactly why they should offer him a competitive rate for his final years. If he turns it down you trade him for the inevitable lottery ticket that is any prospect a team is willing to trade. Even trader Dave didn’t trade Porcello or Nick C because teams just trade the prospects they don’t trust to be solid starters. Sometimes they’re wrong, but not very often.
I’m like every other Tiger fan, I hope they can sustain that pace, and battle either Minnesota or Cleveland for the top slot in the Central. You still have to be realistic or your going to be in for a fall. Getting Carpenter back healthy will help in the power threat department. There is not a lot of young kids on the team, so they have to prove they can sustain the way they’ve been playing.
E rod is pitching like he’s going to win the Cy Young hands down. He’s pitching the best I’ve ever seen him even with Boston, but he’s had spurts of success with them, but this great ? Can Ibanez defeat the A.I. that shows his weak areas while still holding down a full time position ? There are other players as well, that are like those guys.
This year is building it up with guys to see what they can do. The Tampa model is what everyone desires. Seeing the Mets going cardiac only reinforces that goal. They have two fine catchers for the next 4 years, so no Contreas debacle there. This draft they are going to get someone whose very good. When those 3 hitting spots open next year with the loaded system it will be a lot of fun here.
They are way better than I expected to see this year, but it’s a building phase. I’m enjoying the season, and want to see what they get in the draft, and for the pitching like in E rod or Lorenzen. Desperate teams pay big.
“There’s not a lot of young kids on this team”. Do you follow this team? Greene, Tork, Vierling, Maton, Baddoo are all young as are the pitchers on the IL. This team is picking up where the 2021 team left off. 2022 was an injury riddled anomaly, similar to 2008.
They are in bottom 6 in MLB in every offensive category other than BA. Bottom 3 in all but BA, K, & H. They are 4 in H. They are extremely lucky to be anywhere close to .500 with their offense.
They are in bottom 6 in MLB in every offensive category other than BA. Bottom 3 in all but BA, K, & H. They are 4 in H. They are extremely lucky to be anywhere close to .500 with their offense.
Out of 30 teams they are BA-25, OBP-30, SLG-29, OPS-29, OPS+-29, TB-29, K-17, BB-28, RBI-28, HR-28, H-27.
The sooner the AL Avila draft picks leave this franchise, however they leave, the better.
Avila did a variety of things that deserve criticism, but he actually drafted reasonably well. Selecting Jobe over Meyer was an obvious mistake, although Jobe could prove that wrong. However, they will have a solid core to build around if/when everyone can get healthy. Remember that JV took 5-6 years to become a truly elite pitcher as did Max. Most prospects aren’t All Stars from the start.
They won’t get much for a half year rental.
Makes sense. When he gives up 11 hits per 9, 1.5 HR per 9 and handing out 4.4 BB per game, resulting in more base runners and SB opportunities, it’s going to make his neck hurt from turning it to look so often.
Thoughts and prayers to his neck.
What upsets me most about Turnbull is he clearly wasn’t ready after Spring Training, despite desperate attempts to “stretch” him past three innings. Harris and Hinch aside, this organization is still pushing players who are not ready in terms of conditioning or experience.
He had TJS on 7/29/21. He should have been ready 18 months later. Who knows whether it was poor preparation on his part or poor training by the Tigers?
Why do you say he wasn’t ready? After TJ most guys need to pitch a season to get back to where they were. His speed was ok and he was healthy. His main issue this year had been consistency, which would improve over time. The neck injury explains the recent performance. Unfortunate, but not predictable.
E-Rod’s opt out combined with the remainder of his contract will make him difficult to trade at the deadline. He’s not a pure rental, as his remaining deal will follow him if he underperforms or gets hurt during the campaign. His contract matters if he’s bad. He’s a rental if he’s good.
Tigers won’t get much for him…
For a desperate team perhaps ? Tiger fans are hoping they get a John Smoltz for a Doyle Alexander. Sure Smoltz was a long shot, but we like to dream. The Mets come to mind though.
E Rod would sell his opt out, just depends on the price! If someone is serious enough anything is possible
I still think they get something good for him, rental or not. Lots of injuries and only one team has to be desperate enough to blink and give up a decent prospect. There are so many injuries and teams within striking distance of the playoffs this year that to me that will create competition for scarce pitching resources. We got Justyn Henry-Malloy for Joe Jimenez this year so Harris can spot talent and make sensible trades.
Justin Henry-Malloy is just a hopeful prospect at this point, and has not provided anything at the ML level. Lets wait to see what he does first, and see of they can find a spot his glove plays.
JHM suffers from an inaccurate throwing arm, regardless of position. And his primary position is still TBD.
The bat looks like it will play. Either him or Kerry Carpenter will need to be able to play the OF passably and the other can slide into DH next year when Cabrera is gone. Tork plays a solid 1B. Like you say he’s still a prospect though.
And if Carpenter fails, he can grab some pine.
Five minutes ago, the Tigers had 2 opt-out albatross-anchor contracts with no chance either player would exercise their escapes. Two disaster signings by Al Avila, the Disaster Master.
Now the pair, J. Baez (after his public spanking by AJ Hinch) and Eduardo Rodriguez, are the hottest players on the team and playing at All-Star levels. Rodriguez has been absolutely unreal. Best pitcher in baseball – at the moment.
At some point the Tigers have to keep somebody who can play the game. But what do you do with these guys? Re-structure them? Trade them for very little, which will be the market given the overall picture? Let them opt out?
Baseball is crazy.
You’re dreaming if you believe Baez will opt out after this season as he’ll be leaving $98M on the table for the next 4 years not one team will be willing to top that. Face it the Tigers are stuck with him
ERod on the other hand is owed $49M for the next 3 years and a pitcher with how’s he’s been pitching this year is likely worth double that amount, so expect him to opt out. Tigers will not risk losing him for nothing so look for a trade at the deadline
Baez has the exact same contract as Trevor Story and I’m sure the Red Sox would take Baez over Story in a heartbeat. The FA market for SS next offseason is dismal. ATL & LAD could us an SS and giving Baez $25 for 5 or even 6 years would be worth it for both contenders. That said, his increase is more limited than ERod so he’d be taking on more risk.
To say Baez is playing at an All-Star level is such an over statement. He’s been passable. Detroit is stuck with that contract. I would like to see them extend Rodriguez. If he’s not interested, he will get at least one solid prospect back in trade.
If the Tigers extend either of these guys and keep them long term, how long until Tigers fans complain about how much was paid and how long the deal is?
Tiger fans can’t have nice things.
First bad game by either one.
In the last 24 games, the Tigers are 15 and 9. Baez is hitting .326/ .384/ .494. Maybe not all star production, but really darn good. He will opt out.
A quality start today from Faedo so that’s a positive. Lorenzen has been pretty good too. Of course he’s just signed for this season to build his value up. Having a injury free Faedo will be a real key for the Tigers going forward, as he’s under control for now to 28. That’s the type of guys the Tigers need to come through for the immediate future.
Detroit will have lots of pitching for next year with Mize and Skubal returning. They will need an innings eater or two as they will be on pitch limits. That’s why keeping Rodriguez would make sense. With Lorenzen having been a journeyman, if he continues to look solid, I’m sure he would listen to an extension offer.
It’s kind of hard not to call shenanigans on Turnbull when he could have disclosed this neck discomfort after he was pulled or directly before the meeting, not a phone call afterwards
He presumably thought he could pitch thru it and didn’t want to sit after spending over a season in rehab. Tigers assumed he needed to go down to work on consistency. He likely assumed he’d recover, pitch a couple games and come back. His agent presumably explained the implications to him after the meeting which led to the call. This was also checked out by two doctors who confirmed. Unusual, but nothing shady about it.
The Tigers are better than most people realize. For once, there are options to replace veterans who aren’t performing. We see that on the pitching side mainly, but we’ll see it more and more with position players now. You are seeing, in slow motion, Schoop being replaced by Andy Ibanez. There’s more down at Toledo ready to replace the next underperforming position player, too.
I hope Baez continues to heat up. He doesn’t need to be the superstar to be a star player….
Turnbull gets better soon.
Turnbull will be fine. People think he’s faking injury to avoid being sent down or for service time. I doubt it. I think he was just playing through an injury and he realized he needed treatment versus continuing to pitch; especially pitching for a AAA club. He’ll still have to go down for a rehab assignment.
Yes, I agree about Baez. That benching seems to have been helpful getting his head out of his backside.