Turnbull leaves with shoulder pain; What’s happening now in the Phillies rotation? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Spencer Turnbull, making his first start since April 30, left the Phillies’ series finale Wednesday in Detroit after three innings with soreness in his right shoulder.
It’s worrying news for a team that began the week by placing Taijuan Walker on the 15-day injured list with a blister that has prevented him from gripping and throwing his splitter as he needs to.
Given the circumstances with Turnbull (his return to the rotation and his return to Detroit to face the only team he had known before the Phillies) the shoulder had to be pretty sore. He threw 36 pitches and felt pain on the 35th, a curveball.
“I just felt a little grip on the back of my triceps, shoulder and back,” he told reporters after the game. “The last corner squeezed me a little bit. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but I wanted to tell him when I felt it. I didn’t want to do anything to make things worse. Hopefully it’s okay. We’ll recover.” It seemed like tomorrow but I think I’ll be fine.
“I don’t know what it is about this place (Detroit). I can’t stay healthy here, maybe I’m cursed. I can’t stay healthy here, so I’m glad to get out of here. I’ll go back to Philadelphia and hope I feel better in the morning.”
Turnbull was drafted by the Tigers in 2014, reached the majors four years later and started 30 games in 2019. He threw a no-hitter in May 2021, but was sidelined a month later, underwent Tommy John surgery and He didn’t pitch again. in the big leagues until last April. He spent two long stints on the injured list with neck discomfort during a frustrating 2023 season, which ended in a non-tender.
The 31-year-old right-hander will undergo testing on Thursday.
“We’ll know more tomorrow once we know what’s going on and how he feels,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He felt a grab on the back of his shoulder and I didn’t want to take any chances. I went to the bullpen and the bullpen did a great job.”
The Phillies won the game, 6-2, and the series improved to 53-27. Brandon Marsh went 4-for-4 with a home run, three singles and four RBIs.
The Phillies have the best 1-4 in baseball, but they don’t have much starting pitching depth beyond their core four and the 5-6 of Walker and Turnbull. Most teams don’t.
Walker’s replacement on the active roster this week was lanky 25-year-old right-hander Michael Mercado, who was recalled from Triple A after pitching to a 1.71 ERA in 47⅓ innings. Mercado made his major league debut in the Phillies’ 8-1 win on Monday, going 1-2-3 in the eighth inning with a strikeout. He flashed a 96-97 mph fastball, a low 80s curveball and a high 80s cutter.
Mercado had to work through six innings and 91 pitches in his most recent start for Lehigh Valley. That was just eight days ago, so it would make sense for him to start in Turnbull’s place if Turnbull can’t get the ball next time.
“I think the leading candidate would be Mercado if we had to do something,” Thomson said. “He’s not that far away from his last start, so he’s still fit and I’m pretty confident in that.”
The Phillies could also miss out on the fifth spot in their rotation because they won’t have it on Monday. The next time the number 5 spot would be needed will be Saturday, July 6, at which point they could have more clarity with Turnbull or Walker.
If both Turnbull and Walker miss multiple starts, the Phillies don’t have many options beyond Mercado. Max Castillo and Kolby Allard are on the 40-man roster but haven’t pitched well in Triple A. Neither has Mick Abel, who has a 7.08 ERA and isn’t on the 40-man roster yet.
The Phillies are 26 games over .500 with a 7½-game cushion over the Braves in the NL East, but if they don’t get good news on Turnbull and Walker in the coming days, they may need to explore the possibility to add an economical rental holder. before the July 30 trade deadline (a la Michael Lorenzen a year ago). They won’t need a fifth starter in October, but they will need one in the regular season to prevent their bullpen from being unnecessarily overloaded.