Former Tigers injury disappointment lands MLB contract with Blue Jays

On top of leading the American League in wins, the Detroit Tigers have been fairly active on the transaction wire. They just designated Kenta Maeda for assignment and let Andrew Chafin opt out and sign with the Washington Nationals.

Former Tigers have been on the move as well. You'll read more about another recent transaction later today, but on Saturday morning Spencer Turnbull signed a major league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays after his encouraging showing with the Philadelphia Phillies last season.

Turnbull, a former second-round pick of the Tigers back in 2014, was a disappointment during his time in Detroit, but through no fault of his own. The right-hander just so happened to be injury prone and appeared in only 61 games across parts of six seasons.

Turnbull was non-tendered by the Tigers after the 2023 season as the relationship fell apart due to a disagreement over the time he was spending in Triple-A after working his way from Tommy John surgery and struggling significantly.

But then the Phillies took a chance on him in 2024 and the right-hander delivered, logging a 2.65 ERA in 17 games (seven starts). He struck out 58 batters over 54 1/3 innings and allowed just 6.1 H/9.

Former Tigers second-round pick Spencer Turnbull signs with Blue Jays

Well, he delivered for the first half of the season. He was placed on the injured list in June with a shoulder issue and never returned. Coincidentally, the game he was forced to depart from as a result of the injury was against the Tigers. He threw for teams about a month ago, but nobody expressed enough interest to sign him.

And how about this: the Tigers will face the Blue Jays in a couple of weeks when Detroit heads to Toronto for a three-game set from May 16-18. Given Turnbull signed a major league contract, that likely means he's ready to start pitching in games fairly soon.

Tigers fans could see him back in action against his former team fairly soon. And since fans were largely frustrated with the way his tenure went in Detroit (this guy threw a no-hitter in 2021?!), they surely won't be upset if the surging Tigers offense gives him a harsh welcome back to MLB action.