Side pain delays Turnbull’s return to the mound originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
PHOENIX — The Phillies planned to have Spencer Turnbull pitch a mound in Clearwater this week for the first time since he suffered a strain on June 26, but he felt pain in the area of the injury and will stop pitching for at least a few days.
“He didn’t do it, he was in a little pain,” manager Rob Thomson said before the Phillies’ third of four games in Arizona. “He came back to play ball and ended up having some soreness, so we kind of sat him out. Give him some extra time. Hopefully by the end of this week we can get him back.”
The initial timeline for Turnbull’s injury was 6 to 8 weeks. Wednesday marked six weeks. If he is able to successfully return, it will be as a substitute rather than a starter. There’s not enough time to stretch it again.
“It’s going to be tough at this point. We’re going to stretch him out as much as we can, but it would be hard to get him to 100 pitches,” Thomson said.
“He started to reduce his routine, his process. That’s a big problem for these guys because he’s been a starter all his life and now he has to figure out when I throw the ball, when I start, how long I need, and if I get up and have to stop and then have I have to get up later in the game and have Tommy John (surgery). All these things go through your head, so it’s hard for some guys.”
The Phillies could certainly use a healthy Turnbull come playoff time. He is capable of providing more value in that role than Taijuan Walker, who has never been replaced, or some of the Phillies’ lower-leverage arms like Jose Ruiz and Yunior Marte.
Turnbull owns a 2.65 ERA in 54⅓ innings as a Phillie, covering seven starts and 10 relief appearances. He excelled as a starter with a 1.78 ERA and a .146 opponent batting average, but struggled initially after transitioning to relief, allowing nine runs in his first 13⅓ innings. Turnbull’s last three starts before the injury were strong – 8⅔ innings, one run.
“I think he would be very comfortable because he understands we don’t have a lot of time here,” Thomson said. “He wants to win. He’s also asking for a contract. I talked to him earlier in the year while he was still in the rotation and said, you know, there’s a lot of value in a guy that teams know can start and come out of the bullpen. “
Rotation planes
The Phillies started Aaron Nola on Saturday at Chase Field, and Cristopher Sanchez will start Sunday in the final game of a grueling 10-game West Coast road trip.
The Phils are off Monday and Walker will return Tuesday against the Marlins to start a six-game homestand.
The team is still deciding on a rotation plan beyond Tuesday. With Monday off, starter #5 (Tyler Phillips) won’t be needed until next Saturday, August 17th.
They could put Zack Wheeler, Nola and Sanchez on regular rest Wednesday through Friday if they so choose.
They could also start Phillips on Wednesday and give Wheeler, Nola and Sanchez an extra day each. More should be known by the end of the weekend.
Ranger Suarez will not return during the game against Miami and Washington, but could return for the following week’s road trip to Atlanta and Kansas City.
