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Pirates Trade Nik Turley To Athletics

By Steve Adams | January 14, 2021 at 1:18pm CDT

The Pirates have traded left-hander Nik Turley to the Athletics in exchange for cash, per an announcement from the A’s. Pittsburgh designated Turley for assignment earlier this week upon claiming outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. from Detroit.

Turley, 31, tossed 21 2/3 innings with the Pirates this past season but struggled to keep runs off the board and to limit free passes. Between that Pirates stint and a similarly brief look with the Twins back in 2017, the southpaw carries a career 7.78 ERA with 33 strikeouts and 19 walks in 39 1/3 frames.

Unsightly as those numbers may be, Turley has elite spin rates on his curveball and particularly on his four-seam fastball, which checked in at an average of 94.5 mph in 2020. He’s also posted strong numbers in the upper minors. His 2017 minor league output with the Twins was particularly encouraging, as he worked to a 2.05 ERA with a superlative 124-to-29 K/BB ratio in 92 innings. Turley struck out a whopping 34.5 percent of hitters he faced between Double-A and Triple-A that season while walking just 8.1 percent of his opponents.

Turley hasn’t pitched in the minors since that 2017 showing, however. An 80-game PED suspension wiped out the first half his 2018 season after the Pirates claimed him from the Twins, and he was immediately placed on the 60-day injured list upon being activated thanks to an elbow strain he sustained while ramping up toward the end of his suspension window. He ultimately required Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2019 campaign as well.

Turley is out of minor league options, so if he survives the winter on Oakland’s 40-man roster, he’ll have to break camp with the club or else again be exposed to waivers. He’ll give the A’s another lefty to pair with Jake Diekman, who could be the favorite for ninth-inning work now that Liam Hendriks has departed for the White Sox in free agency.

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Oakland Athletics Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Nik Turley

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View Comments (50)
Post a Comment

50 Comments

  1. Nothing

    4 years ago

    The fire sale continues!

    1
    Reply
    • frustratedpittsburghpiratesfan

      4 years ago

      When will MLB wake up and see what Pirates business model is?

      Would rather trade for cash vs prospects,etc. Good grief!

      Reply
  2. Loling @ you

    4 years ago

    A’s next unknown closer.

    3
    Reply
  3. schwender

    4 years ago

    Things about Nik Turley:

    He was born on 9/11 … in 1989
    He’s not Canadian, but is from La Canada
    He didn’t go to Harvard but went to Harvard-Westlake
    He’s the fifth oldest player on the A’s
    The only A’s player that had pro-baseball contract before Nik Turley was Jake Diekman
    He’s a last round draft pick
    Despite popular myth, there is no “C” in Nik Turley

    That is every fact about Nik Turley

    14
    Reply
    • PapiElf

      4 years ago

      His middle name is Carlyle

      1
      Reply
      • stymeedone

        4 years ago

        So the C is just in a different place, Nik C Turley.

        2
        Reply
    • DarkSide830

      4 years ago

      he’s a distant relative of Bob Turley

      1
      Reply
    • HalosHeavenJJ

      4 years ago

      This is awesome.

      Reply
    • Marty McRae

      4 years ago

      Best post of 2021 on here by a long, long way….

      Reply
    • RobM

      4 years ago

      Another to add: He is a distant relative of NY Yankee pitcher Bob Turley. I only know this since he was drafted by the Yankees and was always curious if there was a connection.

      Reply
      • bobtillman

        4 years ago

        Isn’t he Manny Machado’s brother in law?

        Reply
        • DarkSide830

          4 years ago

          ha!

          Reply
  4. DarkSide830

    4 years ago

    Diekman as closer…looks good after last year, but its Jake Diekman we’re talking about here.

    1
    Reply
  5. Caleb Clark

    4 years ago

    Can you all post something about the International Signings that are happening. I think Heyman has tweeted about 2-3 by now.

    1
    Reply
    • Steve Adams

      4 years ago

      Those agreements have been known for months, first reported by Ben Badler over at Baseball America. We’ll do some type of roundup of notable international signings tomorrow, but international deals for teenage kids aren’t a huge point of focus for us — due largely to pushback from readers when we used to focus more heavily on them.

      For what it’s worth, we noted the Astros and Pedro Leon nearly a year ago, when the agreement was first reported:

      mlbtraderumors.com/2020/02/quick-hits-young-torre-…

      Not a knock on Heyman or anything, but nothing he’s reporting is new.

      1
      Reply
      • RobM

        4 years ago

        I’d have no issue if you guys covered those signings too, although I also subscribe to BA, so I don’t actually expect those signings here.

        Reply
    • GangGreen23

      4 years ago

      Hi Caleb, I think Tomorrow is the official start of the International players Signing day.

      Reply
    • Dunk Dunkington

      4 years ago

      Here is where the top 10 international guys will be signing tomorrow;

      Cespedes – White Sox
      Wilman Diaz – Dodgers
      Christian Hernandez – Cubs
      Carlos Colmenarez – Rays
      Pedro Leon = Astros
      Armando Cruz – Nationals
      Jesus Galiz – Yankees
      Ricardo Perez – Phillies
      Yiddi Cappe – Marlins

      1
      Reply
      • DarkSide830

        4 years ago

        that’s Cappe bro, that’s Cappe

        Reply
  6. tom brunanskys black sock

    4 years ago

    A lot of people maligning this deal, but it’s clearly Turley to tell.

    11
    Reply
    • NYYstateofmind

      4 years ago

      Fouled away, the count on tommy black Sox remains 0 & 2

      1
      Reply
      • tom brunanskys black sock

        4 years ago

        Hope ya like bean dip

        Reply
        • NYYstateofmind

          4 years ago

          Called strike 3! Tommy goes down looking, again.

          1
          Reply
        • tom brunanskys black sock

          4 years ago

          You have plenty of room for improvement if you’re going to reach the groupie levels of your fellow buzzing gnats lolmetzy and GuestsOrWhatever. Go lap in the wake of someone else, you unenterprising lummox.

          1
          Reply
        • NYYstateofmind

          4 years ago

          Lol, love your lexicon & how you’re always throwing out big $10 words, not only am I a lummox but an unenterprising one at that. I’ll keep trying while you ponder this,

          “It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing your whole life.” – Mickey Mantle

          Reply
        • tom brunanskys black sock

          4 years ago

          You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I’m an easy target. Yeah, you’re right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you… but I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I’m not changing. I like… I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get.

          1
          Reply
        • NYYstateofmind

          4 years ago

          Hey pal, I’m not trying to hurt you, actually I think a lot of your posts are pretty clever & funny. I was just trying to defend myself after you came at me like a spider monkey yesterday. Truce?

          Reply
        • tom brunanskys black sock

          4 years ago

          You’re the guy who tried to get my cab. I knew I knew you! You scared the bejesus out of me. Come to think of it it was easy to get a cab during rush hour.

          1
          Reply
        • lolzmets

          4 years ago

          That’s like the 5th time with the John Candy. If you’re going to copy and paste, then re-use your “hey guys it’s so great that I’m not a racist” post. Now THAT was hilarious! Then everyone can pat you on the back and say “Hey Xabial, you are so noble. We learned from you today”! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

          Reply
        • tom brunanskys black sock

          4 years ago

          Funny enough, I was just talking to my friend about that. Our speedometer has melted and as a result it’s very hard to see with any degree of accuracy exactly how fast we were going.

          1
          Reply
        • NYYstateofmind

          4 years ago

          Yea you’re right pal, that was me, I was trying to rush home b4 the hookers got there, I’ll buy you a drink the next time I see ya in the city.

          Reply
        • bobtillman

          4 years ago

          Your wife is having an affair with Bill Barr and your customers are waiting for your bankruptcy.

          Have a nice day.

          Reply
        • Mrtwotone

          4 years ago

          I love dynamite drop in Monty

          1
          Reply
        • tom brunanskys black sock

          4 years ago

          I love you too, buddy.

          Reply
  7. hammertime510

    4 years ago

    Watch Turley outperform Hendriks lol

    3
    Reply
  8. HalosHeavenJJ

    4 years ago

    This being the A’s, he’ll turn into a gem.

    1
    Reply
  9. esaskgd2

    4 years ago

    This move will fill the PNC Park

    Reply
  10. julyn82001

    4 years ago

    Cheap twins: A’s and Pirates! Time to sale both franchises for the better part of their fans, c’mon!

    Reply
    • theodore glass

      4 years ago

      What about the Rays and Indians.

      Reply
  11. stymeedone

    4 years ago

    Not twins, the A’s win!

    1
    Reply
  12. YourDreamGM

    4 years ago

    Great pick up. Guy misses bats. Will see, but pirates couldn’t find a weaker player to drop.

    Reply
    • DarkSide830

      4 years ago

      he’s also 31 and is probably only doing anything of value because he’s juiced again. explains why he broke out in 2017.

      Reply
  13. Marty McRae

    4 years ago

    Will be the A’s closer by September.

    Also will have a sub-2.00 ERA.

    Because it’s the A’s, they do this with relievers.

    1
    Reply
    • lolzmets

      4 years ago

      Been eating good Marty McGravy?!

      Reply
  14. parts unknown

    4 years ago

    for cash that Nutting will use to buy a ps5 for himself….

    1
    Reply
    • PiratesFan1981

      4 years ago

      Nope. He is saving that cash for a new ski lift

      1
      Reply
  15. its_happening

    4 years ago

    He was pretty good in MLB The Show 16.

    Reply
  16. doug c

    4 years ago

    nutting wallet geting cash to help out with bonuses

    1
    Reply
    • frustratedpittsburghpiratesfan

      4 years ago

      This crap of Pirates trading players for cash has to be stopped.

      Reply
  17. jessaumodesto

    4 years ago

    Finally making some big moves!

    Reply

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