Injured Phillies pitcher hits a speedbump during rehab

Like many other teams around Major League Baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies have had to endure some injuries over the course of the season. The injured list was relatively full up until the All-Star break, but since then the club has gotten a number of players back on the roster.

One player who has not made his return yet is versatile pitcher Spencer Turnbull. The right-hander is rehabbing and should return before the end of the season, but a recent setback may force his return to be later than expected.

Injured Phillies pitcher Spencer Turnbull hits a speedbump during rehab

Turnbull has not pitched in a game since June 26 in Detroit — his former stomping grounds. The outing was his first start since April 30 after being transitioned to a bullpen role to help limit his innings. Unfortunately, the former Tiger was only able to pitch three innings before being removed from the game with a shoulder injury.

The original recovery timeframe was six to eight weeks. The six-week mark has now arrived, however, the Phillies' pitcher hit a speedbump in his rehab. Turnbull was scheduled to throw a bullpen session at the Phillies' spring training complex in Clearwater this week but was unable to throw due to discomfort in the injured shoulder.

Manager Rob Thomson spoke on the weekend about the throwing session per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman.

"He did not, had a little soreness," Thomson said on Saturday in Arizona, per Seidman. "He came back to play catch and he ended up having some soreness so we kinda backed off him. Give him some extra time. Hopefully by the end of this week, we'll get him back going again."

Turnbull to head to the bullpen upon his return to the Phillies

It was already thought that Turnbull would rejoin the Phillies as a reliever given the amount of games left and the time it would take to build the 31-year-old's arm strength back up. Now that seems like a certainty.

Regardless of how he is utilized, the club could use extra pitching help. Turnbull has a 2.65 ERA on the season and opponents were hitting just .188 against the right-hander. His relief outings were inconsistent when he first moved to the new role, but he later settled in and figured out a routine. He could be used as a middle-innings reliever or perhaps a multi-inning reliever later in the schedule or even in the postseason.

It would benefit Turnbull to be as effective as possible when he returns as his contract is up at the end of the 2024 campaign. His performance in the rotation and the versatility he showed in his relief outings certainly helped increase his chance at getting a more lucrative deal than the single-season $2 million one he is on now. His health may play a factor in the final figures, however.