While the trio of Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt have been mostly as advertised this season, the Toronto Blue Jays have lacked any sort of contribution from the back-end of their rotation. Given that, the team has signed Spencer Turnbull to an MLB deal.
Turnbull won't pitch for the Blue Jays just yet, as he needs to get himself ready to produce on a team that hopes to make the postseason. For now, he will report to the FCL Blue Jays and will hopefully be ready to contribute in the majors sooner rather than later.
While he's far from a big name, Turnbull could give the Blue Jays the rotation stability they desperately need.
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Spencer Turnbull could prove to be Blue Jays rotation savior
Entering the season, the Blue Jays hoped they had their rotation completely sorted out. They had Gausman, Berrios, and Bassitt healthy, and had high hopes for Max Scherzer and Bowden Francis to round out the staff. Well, Scherzer managed to throw just three innings in his Blue Jays debut and hasn't thrown a pitch since due to injury, and Francis has a 5.66 ERA in seven starts. If the Blue Jays had any semblance of rotation depth, there's reason to believe he'd either be in the bullpen or in Triple-A by now.
That lack of rotation depth is why the Turnbull signing has the potential to be a good one. He feels like a perfect fit at the back end of this rotation.
Turnbull, once an intriguing Detroit Tigers prospect, had his best season in 2024 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He wound up posting a 2.65 ERA in 17 appearances (seven starts) and 54.1 innings of work overall before suffering what turned out to be a season-ending lat strain.
Turnbull provided value as both a starting pitcher and a reliever, but his 1.78 ERA as a starter shows that he was particularly comfortable beginning games. He wound up allowing three runs or fewer in all seven of his starts, and allowed one earned run or fewer in five of his seven starts. To put it bluntly, he was brilliant.
I'm not here to say Turnbull will put up a sub-2.00 ERA in Toronto as a starter, but there certainly is reason to believe he'll be a substantial upgrade over Francis and over what they've done with Scherzer's rotation spot. Even if the Blue Jays eventually find five starters better than Turnbull, they can put him in their bullpen down the stretch.
There are many weaknesses on this Jays roster, but none feel bigger than their lack of rotation depth. The Turnbull signing, while not flashy, gives them just that, giving Jays fans to feel actual optimism.