Toronto Blue Jays Sign Veteran Free Agent to Help Roster

The Jays indicated they may go get outside help as they try to stay in the American League East race, and they've done that by signing Spencer Turnbull.

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Spencer Turnbull (22) throws a pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park on July 21, 2024. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly come to an agreement with free agent pitcher Spencer Turnbull. That comes from Keegan Matheson of MLB.com and comes after the Jays indicated on Friday that they were open to and working on outside roster additions.

Blue Jays have agreed to sign right-hander Spencer Turnbull to a big-league deal pending physical, source tells me and @ShiDavidi

Turnbull posted a 2.65 ERA in 54.1 innings with the Phillies last year (7 starts, 10 relief appearances)

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 3, 2025

It's unclear how Toronto plans to use Turnbull, or how much time he'll take to ramp up, but his versatility does present them with some options.

The 32-year-old is a six-year veteran of the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, going 15-29 lifetime with a 4.26 ERA. He's made 78 appearances in his career, with 67 of them being starts. He made 10 relief appearances for the Phillies last season, so a swing role is certainly possible. Max Scherzer is currently on the injured list and Bowden Francis has struggled in the early going, so he could also serve as a depth rotation option in case those situations don't improve.

Turnbull was solid for Philadelphia last season, going 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in his 17 appearances. He struck out 58 batters in 54.1 innings.

Toronto enters play on Saturday at 16-16 and in third place in the American League East, having beaten the Cleveland Guardians 5-3 on Friday night.

Saturday's game will begin at 3:07 p.m. ET as veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman (TOR) pitches against Gavin Williams.

Gausman is 2-3 on the season with a 4.50 ERA while Williams is 2-2 with a 5.14. Cleveland is 18-14 and in second place in the American League Central through 32 games.

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