Huge opportunity for newest Blue Jay after roster movement

A series of roster moves on Tuesday has led to an opening in the rotation for the Toronto Blue Jays. Bowden Francis was placed on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement on his throwing side. The Jays were already missing one starter thanks to the thumb injury to Max Scherzer and his spot in the rotation has been filled with spot starters and bullpen arms used as openers.

Now that there are two spots available, it could be an opportunity for Spencer Turnbull to step in and provide some much-needed insurance for a Toronto team whose pitching depth is really being tested at this point. Before Tuesday’s game against the Diamondbacks, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the plan is to have Eric Lauer (2.37 ERA in 30.1 IP) start in Francis’ place on Wednesday, while they could use Turnbull ‘as an option’ on Friday.

Turnbull has had success in his career as a starter, including as recently as last season when he pitched 54.1 innings with a 2.65 ERA for the Philadelphia Phillies. He gave up just six home runs with 58 strikeouts, a 9.6 K/9 rate which was a career high for the 32-year-old right-hander. Going into Tuesday night’s action Turnbull had just 4.1 innings under his belt as a member of the Blue Jays, working out of the bullpen in both of his appearances, and allowed just one earned run.

Turnbull was originally signed by the Blue Jays on May 5 and had him ramp up with a stint in the minor leagues before being called up to Toronto on June 8. During that ramp up, Turnbull didn’t look like a player who was ready to see big league action. In 17.2 innings he walked nine batters and allowed 14 earned runs, but the Blue Jays needed to make a decision based on Turnbull’s contract. He had a clause that would allow him to become a free agent again if he didn’t get moved to the MLB level within 30-days of first signing the contract. Once that date arrived the Blue Jays brought him up to Toronto, not wanting to lose another arm after they had already let José Ureña and Ryan Yarbrough Walk away for nothing earlier this season.

What would help the situation entirely is if Max Scherzer rejoins the rotation within the next week. Scherzer will start for the Bisons in Worcester on Wednesday, and he will be looking to hit certain parameters in that start, namely seeing if he can hit 70-75 pitches with consistent velocity. If that outing goes well he could potentially get back into the Blue Jays rotation for his next start.

In the meantime, the Blue Jays will have to hope that Lauer, who has started 129 games at the big league level over his seven-year career, can give them some length while Turnbull could also be an answer to this ever-evolving puzzle.