Brewers Named Landing Spot For 'Dynamite' Ex-Phillies Starter With IL History

Milwaukee was listed as one of three potential destinations for the right-hander

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching staff has been destroyed by injuries to start the 2025 season, but what is Milwaukee’s front office going to do about it?

The Brewers traded for 24-year-old Boston Red Sox right-hander Quinn Priester on Monday, so that’s a start.

But Milwaukee needs more.

Following the Priester trade, we can expect the Brewers’ brass to snag at least one more starting arm or two, especially since it didn’t do enough this past offseason to protect against injuries to the staff.

On Tuesday, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller, recognizing Milwaukee’s obvious need for starting pitching, linked the Brewers to a free agent right-hander who last pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies.

“By this point, just about every team—either due to a litany of injuries or not doing enough in the offseason—could use a back-of-the-rotation starter who can semi-regularly go five innings without completely imploding,” Miller wrote.

“Yet there sits Spencer Turnbull, ripe for the picking, while fans all over the country (and in Canada) try to tell their teams to do something about that.”

“Among the 212 pitchers who logged at least 350 innings pitched from 2018-24, Turnbull's 3.83 FIP ranks 65th, slightly better than Jack Flaherty and slightly worse than Nathan Eovaldi. And he was dynamite as a swing man last season for the Phillies, making 17 appearances (seven starts) with impressive marks until a lat injury abruptly ended his season in late June.”

“That injury is hardly his first. He missed most of 2021 and all of 2022 due to Tommy John surgery, and he made only seven starts in 2023 due to a neck injury. All told, he managed to pitch just 135.1 innings from 2021-24.”

“But that injury history merely explains why Turnbull has been unable to land a fully guaranteed multiyear deal. It doesn't explain why the 32-year-old who threw a no-hitter in May 2021 can't find a one-year contract while we've got Elvin Rodriguez starting games for the Brewers, or Carlos Carrasco in the Yankees rotation.”

“Candidates to Sign Him: Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres.”

Turnbull accrued a 2.65 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings pitched for Philadelphia in 2024 before hitting the Injured List with the aforementioned lat strain on June 27.

Turnbull has a career 4.26 ERA in 356 2/3 innings pitched.

Should the Brewers pounce?

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