Phillies Move Breakout Star to Long-Term Injured List Following Setback

The Philadelphia Phillies have moved one of their top pitchers to the long-term injured list as they figure out how to utilize their staff going forward.

Jun 5, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Spencer Turnbull (22) looks on before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

This offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies were clearly in the market to solidify their pitching staff as they prepared to gear up for another World Series run.

Their first priority was to re-sign Aaron Nola after contract talks had previously eroded. Once that was accomplished, they turned their attention to extending Zack Wheeler, which got done.

With the two aces secured at the top of their rotation for years to come, the Phillies reportedly were still looking to make a splash by landing Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But when that didn't happen, they still added some more starters by signing Spencer Turnbull and Kolby Allard to minor league deals.

It turned out their addition of Turnbull was an important one.

When Taijuan Walker was placed on the injured list to start the year, he stepped in and had an incredible 1.67 ERA with a 2-0 record across six starts in the month of April. When Walker was activated off the IL, the Phillies utilized the breakout star out of the bullpen.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as smoothy for him in that role as he posted a 7.00 ERA in his first six relief appearances, however, it looked like he was figuring things out before he went down with a right lat strain that has kept him sidelined since June 27.

The thought was Turnbull would return and give this pitching staff a major boost, but those plans could be in some jeopardy after Philadelphia moved him to the long-term 60-day injured list on Aug. 17 according to the team's Injuries & Moves page.

He was scheduled to throw at some point early last week before he suffered a setback, prompting them to shut things down for a bit and make this move. The good news is that manager Rob Thomson said the right-hander is "feeling a lot better" at this stage and Turnbull "is expected to continue his throwing program in the coming days."

As for what his role will be when he's back, Thomson believes they'll use him as a reliever.

The goal is for him to build up his arm strength so that he can be used in multi-inning relief efforts whenever that is needed coming down the final stretch of the regular season.

And while the 60-day injured list move sounds bad, he's also been out since late-June, so he would be eligible to return next week which is roughly the expected timeline the Phillies have set for him.

Still, this will be something to monitor.

Turnbull has had an injury-riddled past, only making 16 starts in three years between 2021-23 because of Tommy John surgery.

If he's able to make his return and be an effective pitcher like he was in the early portion of the season, then he will be a huge addition for Philadelphia heading into the playoffs.