Cubs To Sign Spencer Turnbull

The Cubs are in agreement on a deal with right-hander Spencer Turnbull, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. He was released by the Blue Jays late last month. It’s not yet clear whether the Boras Corporation client is headed to the Cubs on a big league contract or a minor league deal. Either way, he’ll provide some depth to a rotation that has seen several injuries this season.

The 32-year-old Turnbull enjoyed a strong showing with the 2024 Phillies, pitching to a 2.65 ERA in 54 1/3 innings but missing ample time on the injured list. He lingered in free agency throughout the entire offseason and only signed with Toronto in early May, well after the season was underway, for a prorated $1.27MM salary. The Jays ultimately received only three appearances for that modest investment. Turnbull struggled in the minors while ramping up and couldn’t get on track in his limited MLB work either, yielding five runs on 12 hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 6 1/3 big league frames.

Turnbull’s velocity never got up to its typical levels, though that’s perhaps not a huge surprise for a late signee who went through an accelerated buildup. The right-hander sat 89.7 mph with his four-seamer in the minors and was up to 90.9 mph in the majors — both noticeably south of the 92 mph he averaged in Philadelphia last year and the 92.9 mph at which he sat with the Tigers in 2023.

Although this year’s performance doesn’t stand out, Turnbull has been a generally productive pitcher when healthy enough to take the mound. He posted a 4.61 ERA and 3.99 FIP in his first full season at the majors with Detroit back in 2019, tossing 148 1/3 frames. From 2020-24, Turnbull improved to a 3.84 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate –albeit in a sample of just 192 innings over that five-year period.

Injuries have regularly interrupted Turnbull’s path to establishing himself as a credible big league starter. He missed the entire 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery and has also had notable Il stints in his career for lat, back, shoulder, forearm and neck injuries. Turnbull has worked primarily as a starter in the majors — 68 starts, 13 relief outings — but still has only 363 innings under his belt due to that deluge of health troubles.

The Cubs aren’t going to blindly count on Turnbull to hold down a rotation spot from this point forth, but he’ll give them another option to evaluate at a time when Justin Steele is done for the season and when Javier Assad (oblique) and Jameson Taillon (calf) are on the injured list. Assad has yet to pitch this season. Chicago also recently optioned young righty Ben Brown to Triple-A amid some notable struggles.

At the moment, the Cubs’ rotation includes Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton and Colin Rea. Swingman Chris Flexen made a spot start last Friday but has otherwise been used in long relief, where he’s been excellent. The Cubs are widely expected to add at least one starter — if not two — between now and the July 31 trade deadline. The signing of Turnbull doesn’t change that likelihood but does add some further depth in the event of additional injuries to the current staff.