Spencer Turnbull, RHP
As a former promising starter for the Detroit Tigers whose career was derailed substantially due to injuries, Spencer Turnbull was given the opportunity to get things back on track when the Phillies signed him to a one-year, $2 million “show me” deal for the 2024 season. After a solid training camp and a spring training injury that kept Taijuan Walker on the sidelines to start the regular season, Turnbull made the Opening Day roster with Philadelphia, slotting in as their temporary fifth starter.
He hardly pitched like a fifth starter. Turnbull made the most of his opportunity by going 2-0 with a stellar 1.67 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, giving up just six earned runs with 36 strikeouts in 32 1/3 innings pitched in his first six starts.
Spencer Turnbull's 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/jvSSGzOSy6
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 24, 2024
However, upon Walker’s return to the rotation, Turnbull was moved to the bullpen where he didn’t fare as well, posting a 4.26 ERA in 10 total relief appearances. In the end, a right shoulder injury during the last week of June would end his season and, ultimately, his tenure with the Phillies. As of now, the 32-year-old remains without a job in free agency as he continues to search for a new home for the 2025 season.
Connor Brogdon, RHP
Things certainly have changed wildly for former Phillies reliever Connor Brogdon over the past few years. Brogdon became one of the Phillies’ key cogs in the bullpen following a solid 2021 campaign. More importantly, he was most known for his 2022 postseason heroics by compiling a sparkling 2.08 ERA and 0.92 WHIP, giving up just two runs with a whopping 13 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings pitched to help lead Philadelphia to the World Series.
However, a disastrous start to his 2024 campaign with the Phillies in which he gave up six earned runs on three hits with six walks and three strikeouts in just two innings of work over three appearances spelled an end to the right-handed reliever’s tenure with the club. Brogdon was designated for assignment and promptly traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor-leaguer Benony Robles.
Brogdon would go on to appear in just one game with the Dodgers before sustaining a foot injury that wiped out the rest of his 2024 campaign. But just for appearing in that one game, he is officially considered a World Series champion. Now 30 years old, Brogdon signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Angels this past offseason. He was invited to spring training, where he posted a 14.73 ERA in 3 2/3 innings.