Detroit Tigers: Spencer Turnbull returning will help rotation even more

The Detroit Tigers decided to make the first big splash in the free-agent market with the signing of Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year, $77 million contract. Rodriguez will be around the Tigers organization for a while and is going to be someone that fans have to get used to seeing.

What about another Detroit Tigers familiar face that fans have not seen in some time?

Spencer Turnbull has been off the mound for quite some time after his season was cut short, and he had to undergo Tommy John Surgery to repair his UCL and get him back on track. As many know, this is a hefty recovery time for pitchers and likely means that he may not even be able to pitch for the team in 2022.

Even if Turnbull does not take the mound for the team this year and is still on the sidelines recovering, he’s going to make a return eventually, and it’s going to be a blessing for the Tigers. He’s going to add a phenomenal arm to the team’s rotation and beef it up even more.

For those who may have forgotten, Turnbull did start coming into his own this season; he was on pace to have a great season and look like a true front of the rotation guy. He even threw a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners back in May.

The Detroit Tigers having Spencer Turnbull in their back pocket is clutch.

The 2021 season was Turnbull’s fourth in the big leagues, and he made nine starts before his season came to an end. An arm injury limited his starts before the final blow, which may have been a precursor to the injury that ended the season, but either way, he was looking good.

Turnbull was 4-2 with a 2.88 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and 44 punchouts over his 50 innings of work on the season through his nine starts. Whenever Turnbull is able to get back to the mound and pitch again for the Tigers, he’s only going to add another punch to this bullpen.

Both Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal are heading into year three of their MLB careers and are going to start coming into shape and being the pitchers the Tigers have seen them show they can be. The addition of Rodriguez beefs up the rotation a bit as well.

It takes some pressure off of Matt Manning, who can be in the back of the rotation as he continues to work through his debut and entrance into the big leagues.

The Tigers can mix in Turnbull smoothly and gain another stellar arm to help build up this rotation and become an even more competitive ball club. While it will be some time until Turnbull pitches again, it has to leave fans excited to see how the rotation will benefit with Rodriguez and Turnbull being there.

It’s going to be an exciting time to be a Tigers fan soon enough.