Guardians should take a chance on this veteran pitcher

As things stand currently, the starting rotation of the Cleveland Guardians is an incomplete unit. Tanner Bibee is really the only arm that Cleveland can count on right now, with the rest of the group either looking to rebound, return from injury, or are complete unknowns. This puts a lot of pressure on a group that may be counted on a bit more this season, and that is why they should explore the possibility of signing former Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies veteran Spencer Turnbull.

Turnbull is coming off a season that saw him finish with a 2.65 ERA, 1.049 WHIP, and 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 17 appearances (seven starts). Unfortunately, a lat strain would sideline him for the rest of the season in late June, bringing what seemed to be a triumphant comeback to an abrupt end. Turnbull pitched poorly for the Tigers in 2022 following Tommy John surgery in 2021, resulting in being demoted to Triple-A and eventually leaving Detroit in free agency after being non-tendered.

The lengthy injury history of Turnbull is something that would be weighted heavily by Cleveland's front office, but taking chances on people fitting this exact description is not a foreign concept for the Guardians. Just last year, Cleveland brought in Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb to bolster their rotation, both were coming off surgeries the year prior (Tommy John for Boyd and hip surgery for Cobb), making both players affordable for the Guardians. This seems like a very solid precedent to follow and one the Guardians may decide to pursue.

Is Turnbull the absolute guaranteed upgrade that some of the other arms on the free agent market would have been? Clearly not, but that is not the type of free agent the Guardians are ever going to sign. When looking at players who fit their budget and potential return value-wise, Turnbull's projected market value of $4.4 million per year is a perfect fit and could be worth the Guardians taking a chance to resurrect the career of yet another former Detroit Tiger.