Phillies' Spencer Turnbull: Moving back into rotation

Turnbull is scheduled to join the rotation and start Wednesday against the Tigers in Detroit, Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

He'll be taking over the rotation spot that previously belonged to Taijuan Walker, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with right index finger inflammation after developing what manager Rob Thomson termed as a "hot spot" on his pitching hand. Though an injury of this sort wouldn't seem to portend a lengthy absence for Walker, Turnbull could end up sticking around as the Phillies' No. 5 starter once Walker is healthy, so long as Turnbull comes close to recapturing the excellent form he displayed as a member of the rotation earlier this season. The Phillies have stated that they plan to monitor Turnbull's workload this season after he missed all of 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and a large portion of 2023 due to neck discomfort, but the 31-year-old right-hander has made it difficult for the club to stick to that plan while he's performed so-so as a reliever (4.26 ERA, 14.1 K-BB% in 10 appearances) but exceptionally in his six starts (1.67 ERA, 20.5 K-BB%). His upcoming start against his former Tigers club will be his first since April 30, but Turnbull worked three scoreless innings (49 pitches) in his most recent relief outing Friday and is being targeted for around 70 pitches Wednesday, per Thomson.