Jacob Turner

Nationals Designate Jacob Turner For Assignment

By Connor Byrne | July 1, 2017 at 2:50pm CDT

The Nationals announced that they’ve designated right-hander Jacob Turner for assignment and activated left-hander Sammy Solis from the disabled list.

Turner, an offseason minor league signing, cracked the Nationals’ rotation in early May but ended up doing most of his work out of the bullpen before his designation. The 26-year-old wasn’t part of the solution for the Nats’ beleaguered relief corps, though, as he pitched to a 5.20 ERA and yielded a .288/.355/.545 batting line in 27 2/3 innings from their bullpen. All told, Turner has recorded a 5.08 ERA, with 5.31 K/9 and 3.46 BB/9, in 39 frames, making this the latest disappointing major league season for the 2009 first-round pick of the Tigers and former high-end prospect.

Meanwhile, if his output from 2015-16 is any indication, Solis’ return actually could be a significant boon to Washington’s bullpen. Solis was especially brilliant last year, when he registered a 2.41 ERA, 10.32 K/9 and 4.61 BB/9 in 41 innings, though he got off to a rough start this season before going on the DL in late April with elbow inflammation. The 28-year-old has given up four earned runs on four hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings in 2017, but that’s obviously a small sample and he still owns a 3.11 ERA in 66 2/3 career frames. That type of run prevention would be a godsend for the Nats, whose relievers rank second last in the majors in both ERA and fWAR.

10 Minor-League Free Agent Relievers Off To Strong Starts

By Jeff Todd | May 23, 2017 at 9:11am CDT

There’s no more fickle existence in Major League Baseball than that of a relief pitcher. Teams are generally more willing to tinker with their bullpens than their benches, and often need to make changes to account for overworked staffs.

But the tumult also brings opportunity. Relievers who are throwing well at the right moment can find themselves right back in the majors. And there are often wide-open Spring Training battles to be joined and won.

Plenty of relievers signed minor-league deals last winter. And a solid number of them ended up on MLB rosters within the first two months of the season. Despite failing to receive MLB guarantees on the free-agent market, these ten hurlers have provided quite a bit of value in the early going:

Matt Albers, Nationals: With the Nats’ pen struggling badly, Albers has been a desperately need source of reliable frames: 16 2/3 innings of 1.62 ERA ball. A strong 57.8% groundball rate and meager 1.6 BB/9 walk rate tend to support the results, though Albers isn’t getting enough whiffs (7.6 K/9) to keep up quite this level of pitching.

Craig Breslow, Twins: The lefty specialist has been everything the Minnesota front office hoped for when it bought into his new-look delivery over the winter. Like Albers, a minimal BABIP (.217 in this case) helps explain the sub-2.00 ERA, though in both cases the solid early work is enough to entrench these pitchers in their respective pens for the time being.

Jorge De La Rosa, Diamondbacks: A long-time starter, De La Rosa has averaged less than one inning per relief appearance in Arizona. But the results of that change in focus have been quite promising. It’s good enough that De La Rosa carries a 50% groundball rate with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, supporting a 2.35 ERA through 15 1/3 frames. But there could be more in the tank, as he’s also averaging a career-high 94.1 mph with his fastball and generating a huge 19.5% swinging-strike rate.

David Hernandez, Angels: Though he has completed just 11 innings thus far, after making his debut later than most of the names on this list, Hernandez has impressed. He’s showing the same kind of velocity and swinging-strike rates that made him a buy-low option last year for the Phillies, but the real question is whether he can continue to avoid the long balls that have plagued him in recent years.

J.J. Hoover, Diamondbacks: It was anyone’s guess whether the former Reds’ late-inning stalwart would rebound, but he’s showing well through fifteen frames in Arizona. Hoover is walking more than five batters per nine, but has also racked up 12.6 K/9 (on a career-high 12.6% swinging-strike rate) and owns a 3.00 ERA. So far, a new pitch mix (more two-seamers and sliders) seems to be working.

Jason Motte, Braves: After beating out Hernandez to become the next veteran reclamation project in Atlanta, Motte has ascended to the majors and helped stabilize the pen. His peripherals aren’t terribly inspiring — 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 53.1% groundball rate — but the results (1.59 ERA) have been there through 11 1/3 innings.

Bud Norris, Angels: The crown jewel of the Halos’ impressive slate of finds, Norris has thrived in the closer’s role that he took over out of necessity. Through 23 2/3 innings, he carries a 2.66 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and a 44.2% groundball rate. Norris is bringing more velocity (94.1 mph fastball) and swinging strikes (13.2%) than ever before.

Yusmeiro Petit, Angels: The veteran long man has been stellar, delivering 28 1/3 staff-preserving innings of 2.54 ERA ball through 16 appearances. Petit is carrying 9.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 on the year. (As if the trio of arms on this list weren’t enough, the Halos have also benefited from the strong work of Blake Parker, who had been outrighted off the 40-man roster over the winter.)

Anthony Swarzak, White Sox: There are some very strong performers on this list, but perhaps none has been quite as impressive as Swarzak. He has given the South Siders 19 2/3 breakout innings of 1.37 ERA ball, with 10.1 K/9 and just 0.9 BB/9 in that span. At present, he’s working at a 19.8% swinging-strike rate — about double what he carried over the prior two campaigns — making him quite an interesting potential trade candidate this summer.

Jacob Turner, Nationals: Though he isn’t carrying sparkly numbers, Turner has been an important contributor in D.C. He’s functioning in the swingman role that Petit occupied last year, providing 21 2/3 innings (over two starts and six relief appearances) of 3.74 ERA pitching thus far. While Turner is averaging only 5.8 strikeouts and 3.3 walks per nine, he is continuing to carry the velocity boost he showed last year. Interestingly, he is now working in the zone far more than ever before (50.2% versus 42.1% career average) — though it’s also important to note that his swings and misses are way down (4.8%).

NL East Notes: Cecchini, Cabrera, Nationals, Neris

By Steve Adams | May 8, 2017 at 12:28pm CDT

The Mets will promote infielder Gavin Cecchini prior to tonight’s game against the Giants, Adam Rubin reports (on Twitter). A corresponding move for Cecchini’s recall is not yet known. Once considered one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Cecchini’s stock has taken a step back, though he still entered the season rated as the Mets’ No. 6 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB.com. In addition to making his MLB debut last season and hitting a pair of doubles in seven plate appearances with the Mets last season, the 23-year-old turned in a solid year in Triple-A Las Vegas. In 499 plate appearances there last season, Cecchini batted .325/.390/.448. He’s off to a slower start in 2017, slashing .254/.316/.369.

More from the Senior Circuit’s Eastern Division…

Flamethrowing reliever Mauricio Cabrera was activated from the disabled list by the Braves yesterday, though he was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Cabrera was one of Atlanta’s best relievers in 2016 and is touted as a potential closer, though as MLB.com’s Mark Bowman tweets, he’ll remain in Triple-A to continue to hone his control. The reasons for the Braves’ apparent concerns with his control aren’t hard to see; in six minor league innings this season (he was previously pitching on a rehab assignment), Cabrera has issued four walks, hit a batter, and thrown three wild pitches. That said, it shouldn’t be hard for Cabrera to force his way back into the mix in short order if he begins to locate his pitches more effectively. Josh Collmenter, Ian Krol and Eric O’Flaherty all have ERAs north of 5.50, and the Braves’ relief corps as a whole has pitched to a 4.99 ERA in 95 2/3 innings this year.
The Nationals are weighing whether to keep right-hander Jacob Turner in their struggling bullpen or use him as their fifth starter, writes Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Turner has fired six shutout innings in the bullpen but has also impressed the team in a starting role, Castillo notes. The five-spot in the rotation comes up next on Thursday, and Washington’s other option for that outing in Baltimore is right-hander A.J. Cole. Castillo notes, however, that Cole was hit fairly hard by the Phillies this weekend despite escaping with just one run allowed. Right-hander Joe Ross, who was optioned to Triple-A last week, is slated to pitch for Syracuse tonight, so he’s seemingly not an option.
Since surrendering back-to-back-to-back homers to blow a save against the Dodgers a bit more than a week ago, Hector Neris has once again ramped up the usage of his splitter, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out. Gelb notes that 30 of the 43 pitches Neris has thrown since that meltdown have been splitters. The Phillies have “implored” Neris to throw his splitter, which is his best pitch, with more and more frequency, Gelb adds. “The more he uses it, the more hitters have to worry about it, and they can’t sit on his fastball,” says manager Pete Mackanin. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes that during Neris’ shakiest stretch this season, he was throwing 40 percent splitters against 60 percent four-seam fastballs. Neris looks to be back on track, and it doesn’t seem as if there’s any real thought in making a ninth-inning change in Philadelphia at this time. (Reminder to fantasy players: you can track all of the latest ninth-inning drama by following MLBTR’s @closernews account on Twitter.)

Nationals Option Joe Ross; Jacob Turner Stepping Into Rotation

By Steve Adams | May 2, 2017 at 11:14am CDT

11:14am: The Nats have now announced the move, adding that right-hander A.J. Cole has been recalled from Syracuse to fill the vacant roster spot. As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com points out (via Twitter), Cole will need to sit for three games before he’s eligible to pitch, as he still needs to complete a five-game suspension that was issued to him last year for throwing at Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang.

11:04am: The Nationals made the somewhat surprising decision to option right-hander Joe Ross to Triple-A Syracuse following yesterday’s game, per the team’s transactions page at MLB.com. While the club has yet to formally announce the move, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post confirms that Ross has indeed been optioned out, adding that right-hander Jacob Turner will join the rotation for the time being.

Ross was optioned to Triple-A to open the season as well, though that move was made largely due to the fact that the team didn’t need a fifth starter early in the year, and it also afforded the Nationals a chance to briefly limit the young righty’s innings. This move, however, is more about the Nationals’ desire for Ross to improve his changeup, according to Janes. Ross has been clobbered by lefties in three starts this season and has struggled against left-handed bats throughout his young career, yielding a .301/.374/.469 batting line to opponents that hold the platoon advantage.

That said, it’s still a bit curious to see Ross sent down. Platoon issues notwithstanding, he entered the season with a career 3.52 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.5 BB/9 and 45.5 percent ground-ball rate through 181 2/3 Major League innings. And while he’s struggled in his past two starts, one of those outings came at Coors Field. Beyond that, Turner has a limited track record in the Majors, having struggled to a 5.09 ERA through 330 innings, though Turner did show well in his own start in Colorado this season (six innings, three runs on six hits and no walks with six strikeouts).

It’s not clear if the demotion of Ross is a short-term move or if he’ll be left to sort things out in the minors for a lengthier stay. It doesn’t seem likely, however, that Ross would stay in the minors long enough to delay his path to free agency, as that’d require a Triple-A stint that spanned the majority of the season. Ross entered the 2017 campaign with one year, 94 days of service time and has already accrued 13 more days of service with his late-April promotion. As such, he needs 65 more days in the Majors to reach two full years of service time, which would keep him on pace to become a free agent following the 2021 season.

The corresponding move for Ross isn’t yet known, though Janes notes that it’ll likely be a reliever. Current options on the 40-man roster include Austin Adams, Trevor Gott and Rafael Martin, while veterans Joe Nathan and Neal Cotts are both in Syracuse on minor league deals.

NL East Notes: Nola, Braves, Nationals

By Steve Adams | April 24, 2017 at 2:28pm CDT

The Phillies announced today that righty Aaron Nola has been placed on the 10-day DL due to a strained lower back. “After receiving treatment over the last few days, the symptoms improved, but he still felt some tightness during his side session yesterday,” GM Matt Klentak said in a press release. “Our hope and expectation is that this will not be a lengthy DL placement and that Aaron will miss only one or two starts.” Nola joins right-hander Buchholz on the disabled list, thus creating a temporary avenue for another of the Phillies’ upper-level arms to get a look in the Majors. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer and MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki both suggest that right-hander Nick Pivetta (originally acquired in exchange for Jonathan Papelbon) could be the preferred option to start in Nola’s place (Twitter links).

NL East Notes: Harvey, Nationals Bullpen, Conley

By Jeff Todd | March 21, 2017 at 10:51am CDT

With the level of concern increasing throughout the spring, Mets righty Matt Harvey turned around the narrative with his most recent outing, as Marc Carig of Newsday reports. While the results weren’t stellar, Harvey was sitting at 93 to 94 mph with his fastball and reached as high as 96, putting him back in his normal range. Plus, manager Terry Collins said, there were improvements to the veteran righty’s mechanics and command. That appearance has at least temporarily halted any clear need to consider keeping the 27-year-old in extend spring training to open the season, though Carig notes that approach could still end up as an option given the presence of three intriguing alternatives in Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, and Zack Wheeler.

Here are some more arms-related updates from the NL East:

The division-rival Nationals, meanwhile, are sorting through their own pitching decisions. As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes, skipper Dusty Baker would like to carry a long reliever, though it’s unclear just who’d take that role. Minor-league signee Jeremy Guthrie has shown life with his fastball, and he’s joined in camp by fellow non-roster invitees Vance Worley, Matt Albers, and Jacob Turner as well as former top prospect A.J. Cole. Of course, carrying a multi-inning reliever would mean leaving behind someone else. 42-year-old Joe Nathan might be one of the top alternatives; as Zuckerman further writes, the team seems to be weighing his possible inclusion, having given him nine innings of action. Nathan has allowed just three earned runs, though he has only four strikeouts to go with three walks. Unless the Nats go with an eight-man pen, keeping any of the above-mentioned pitchers would likely mean parting with either veteran Oliver Perez (who’s guaranteed $4MM) or out-of-options newcomer Enny Romero, both of whom are currently projected by Jason Martinez of MLBTR and RosterResource.com to make the active roster.
Then, there’s the question of the closer spot for the Nationals. As MLB.com’s Jamal Collier tweets, Baker has trotted out Koda Glover for five-straight ninth-inning appearances, perhaps suggesting he’s testing him for the job. The veteran manager says he believes that the 23-year-old Glover has the arsenal needed to close, with the team assessing whether he’s ready to handle that spot at this stage. His top competitor appears to be Blake Treinen, who has been dominant in three spring frames (six strikeouts, no walks or hits). Glover has received a much more substantial showcase thus far, and has also impressed by allowing just one earned run on four hits and a single walk with 11 strikeouts over eight innings.
For the Marlins, there’s increasing unease with the showing thus far from lefty Adam Conley, as manager Don Mattingly said yesterday. (Video via the Sun-Sentinel.) The long-framed southpaw has struggled to “sync everything up” thus far, says Mattingly, leaving the club with at least a “little bit” of concern at this stage. Noting that the club is still considering the form of its Opening Day rotation, the skipper says that one major concern is Conley’s inefficiency, which has been a problem in the past. Last year, he managed only 133 1/3 innings over 25 starts.

Nationals Sign Jacob Turner, Three Others To Minors Deals

By Jeff Todd | December 13, 2016 at 11:44am CDT

The Nationals have announced four minor-league signings, most prominently including righty Jacob Turner. Also joining the organization on minors deals with spring invites are lefty Tim Collins, infielder Emmanuel Burriss, and righty Mike Broadway. (The latter two signings were previously reported by Jon Heyman of Fan Rag; Twitter links.)

Turner, who’s still just 25, was once a prized prospect. But he never quite stuck in a big league rotation, and has bounced around in recent years. Most recently, he pitched for the White Sox. Returning to the majors in 2016, mostly as a reliever, Turner threw 24 2/3 innings of 6.57 ERA ball with 6.6 K/9 and 5.8 BB/9.

The 27-year-old Collins has been a successful reliever in the past, racking up 211 frames with a 3.54 ERA and 9.4 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 between 2011 and 2014. Since then, however, he has undergone a series of Tommy John surgeries.

We covered Burriss already right here. Broadway, 29, has spent less time in the majors than the other two hurlers. Since the start of 2015, he has thrown 22 2/3 frames with the Giants, compiling a 6.75 ERA and 6.8 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9. Broadway also appeared briefly for Japan’s Yakult Swallows in 2016. He was rather good at Triple-A in 2015, it’s worth noting, racking up 48 1/3 innings with just five earned runs on 25 hits and an excellent 64:8 K/BB ratio.

White Sox Outright Jacob Turner

By Jeff Todd | October 5, 2016 at 2:25pm CDT

The White Sox have outrighted right-hander Jacob Turner to Triple-A, per a club announcement. That move leaves the organization with one open 40-man spot at present.

Though he is still just 25 years of age, the once-touted Turner has still not shown signs of reaching his former promise. He wasn’t terribly effective even at the Triple-A level, and was bombed for a 6.57 ERA over 24 2/3 major league innings.

Neither were the peripherals terribly promising. Opposing hitters made hard contact on nearly 40% of the balls they put in play against Turner. He ended with just 6.6 K/9 against a messy 5.8 BB/9 and sported a 26.3% home run-per-flyball rate to go with his more-promising 51.2% groundball rate.

White Sox Outright Jacob Turner, Purchase Contract Of Jimmy Rollins

By Jeff Todd | March 30, 2016 at 1:06pm CDT

The White Sox announced several roster moves today. Among them, righty Jacob Turner was outrighted off of the 40-man roster, while shortstop Jimmy Rollins was added in his place.

Turner, 24, landed with the White Sox after bouncing around several times in recent years. He agreed to a $1.5MM deal with the club over the offseason.

A former top prospect, Turner is still looking to get back on track after fizzling out in the majors and sitting out much of 2015 with arm troubles. The out-of-options right-hander was hit hard this spring, allowing 14 earned runs on 14 hits and eight walks over 12 innings.

As for Rollins, it was widely expected that he’d open the year as the primary shortstop in Chicago. It seems he’ll still cede time to Tyler Saladino on occasion, but Rollins figures to receive the majority of the action.

White Sox Re-Sign Jacob Turner

By Jeff Todd | December 4, 2015 at 11:03am CDT

The White Sox announced on Friday that they have re-signed the recently non-tendered Jacob Turner to a one-year contract that will pay the right-hander $1.5MM.

It seems curious, at first glance, that Chicago declined to tender Turner a contract at yesterday’s deadline but then struck a deal with him today. Turner, after all, was projected to earn $1MM in arbitration this year, as it’s standard for players to receive an identical salary to the previous year after sitting out a season due to injury.

However, Turner’s situation was rather unique, as the former top prospect signed a Major League contract out of the draft (an outcome that is no longer possible under the since-revamped collective bargaining agreement). Turner’s big league deal out of the draft — he was selected ninth overall in 2009 — included a $4.7MM signing bonus, and an annualized portion of that sum has to be included when calculating his salary. As such, the White Sox and Turner have most likely split the difference between what he might’ve netted in arbitration and what the team would have filed.

The White Sox claimed Turner off waivers just over a month ago from the cross-town Cubs, who carried him for most of the season on the 60-day DL as Turner dealt with arm issues. Turner is out of minor league options and will have to stick on the club’s 40-man roster this spring or be exposed to outright waivers, but the Sox will hope that he can maintain better health in 2016 and realize some of the potential that once made Turner such a highly touted arm.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports first reported the agreement (on Twitter).

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