Detroit Right-hander Spencer Turnbull was not offered a contract by the Detroit Tigers for the 2024 year on Friday night. Considering what Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris stated about Turnbull following the conclusion of the regular season, the decision was quite unexpected.
However, following a year of tense and uneasy talks, the Tigers’ final divorce from Turnbull might be the most amicable outcome.
The Major League Baseball Players Association issued a statement on Turnbull’s behalf on Monday. The decision was this: even though Turnbull was optioned in August, he will get a full year of service time for the 2023 campaign.
Turnbull noted in the statement, “I was struggling with a foot injury at the time I was optioned in August 2023.” “I brought this up at the Club. The Club has now decided to revoke the option after giving my condition more consideration, and I will be playing in all major league games in 2023.
A team representative for the Tigers declined to comment.
Actually, Turnbull’s choice judgment was overturned twice in the last year, the first time it happened in the August edition. The first occurred in early May when manager A.J. Hinch’s hotel room in St. Louis was summoned by the Tigers for a struggling Turnbull. There, Harris told Turnbull that he was being optioned. Turnbull pitched a no-hitter for the Tigers in 2021 and had a lifetime 4.25 ERA going into the season. After making seven starts in 2023 with a 7.26 ERA, Turnbull subsequently disclosed a neck ailment. Later on, he acknowledged that it was a mistake to not alert the team sooner.
Turnbull declared on May 26th, “I ought to have raised the matter.” It wasn’t wise of me to attempt to play through it. That
“I got a call from him, and that’s when he disclosed some discomfort,” Harris said in May. “As soon as we heard that, we set up an appointment with our doctor and we had him see a specialist out of state. We had those doctors discuss what was going on with his neck, confirmed the injury and we placed him on the IL.”
The injury indeed proved serious enough that Turnbull was moved to the 60-day injured list on June 9.
“It was not a difficult process,” Boras told The Athletic in May. “I went through the medical, got imaging, got it reviewed by experts. We had a discussion. We all agreed on the medical, and they put him on the IL.”
After completing a minor-league assignment with a 7.71 ERA in four starts at Triple-A Toledo, the Tigers again optioned Turnbull on Aug. 23 rather than activate him to the major-league roster. Turnbull proceeded to miss multiple minor-league starts with what was described as a cracked toenail.
On September 1, Hinch stated, “He’s been talking about a cracked toenail and indicating that he’s limited with pitching.” “He has been receiving medical attention. Every day, we anticipate that he will be ready to go and on the mound.
Before the season ended, Turnbull made two more starts at Triple A, allowing two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Turnbull, a 31-year-old who, in his prime, possesses nasty stuff, had grown progressively more irritated over the course of the season, to the point where he attempted to be traded at the trade deadline. A team source briefed on the situation claims that the Tigers attracted little outside attention at that time.
However, Turnbull brought up his August foot problem with the MLBPA. Five days separated him from completing his five-year service requirement at the end of the 2023 campaign. Turnbull now surpasses the five-year mark after serving for a full year in 2023. That implies Turnbull, who is currently a free agent, has to agree to any alternatives for his professional future. Additional pension benefits are also included, however a full MLB pension does not become vested until after ten years of service. Turnbull would have served for six full years at that point, qualifying him for free agency once more.
A team could have signed Turnbull for 2024, kept him in the minor leagues, and then kept him in arbitration through 2025 if Monday’s ruling hadn’t been made.
However, Turnbull brought up his August foot problem with the MLBPA. Five days separated him from completing his five-year service requirement at the end of the 2023 campaign. Turnbull now surpasses the five-year mark after serving for a full year in 2023. That implies Turnbull, who is currently a free agent, has to agree to any alternatives for his professional future. Additional pension benefits are also included, however a full MLB pension does not become vested until after ten years of service. Turnbull would have served for six full years at that point, qualifying him for free agency once more.
A team could have signed Turnbull for 2024, kept him in the minor leagues, and then kept him in arbitration through 2025 if Monday’s ruling hadn’t been made.
However, Turnbull brought up his August foot problem with the MLBPA. Five days separated him from completing his five-year service requirement at the end of the 2023 campaign. Turnbull now surpasses the five-year mark after serving for a full year in 2023. That implies Turnbull, who is currently a free agent, has to agree to any alternatives for his professional future. Additional pension benefits are also included, however a full MLB pension does not become vested until after ten years of service. Turnbull would have served for six full years at that point, qualifying him for free agency once more.
A team could have signed Turnbull for 2024, kept him in the minor leagues, and then kept him in arbitration through 2025 if Monday’s ruling hadn’t been made
