Spencer Turnbull might have wasted his chance to make Phillies' NLDS roster

The Philadelphia Phillies continue to keep themselves busy as the NL East division champions attempt to remain focused while navigating a five-day layoff — a solid perk earned from recording the second-best record in the National League and being awarded a first-round bye.

The team engaged in what manager Rob Thomson described as a highly competitive and very productive intrasquad game when he spoke to the local media on Wednesday via Zoom. There were some interesting bits of information that came out of that conversation, with some key roster decisions becoming much more clear in the days leading up to Game 1 of the NLDS.

One of the biggest storylines ahead of the postseason involves the Phillies pitching staff. With Ranger Suárez's struggles over the final two and a half months of the season a legitimate cause for concern, it was a positive development, with Thomson seemingly impressed with Suárez's two innings of work in Wednesday's intrasquad game, per Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. But practice doesn't count, and the question becomes who will pick up the slack if Suárez proves unreliable in the postseason?

Spencer Turnbull might have wasted his chance to make Phillies' NLDS roster

Wednesday's media availability revealed that auxiliary starter Spencer Turnbull is finally healthy after landing on the IL in June with a lat strain. Could a healthy Turnbull become a viable option to pitch bulk innings if Suárez's struggles follow him into the postseason? While that seems to be an obvious choice the Phillies would probably consider, the prospect of that happening is not looking very good following his one inning of work in yesterday's intrasquad game.

MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported that Turnbull did not look sharp during the scrimmage. With his fastball said to only be touching 92 mph, it was also reported that he threw a lot of pitches during his one inning of work, resulting in a quick exit. Thomson was straightforward in his assessment of Turnbull's performance on the mound, and how much his rough performance may influence his final decision regarding the postseason bullpen.

When asked if Turnbull's poor showing will influence his final decision, Thomson remained diplomatic.

“Really not a whole lot,” said Thomson, per Zolecki “because he hasn’t really pitched all that much right now. So in my opinion he needs a little bit of work, but you never know.”

Although Thomson stopped short of saying that Turnbull was out of consideration for a postseason roster spot, he acknowledged that Turnbull's lengthy absence makes his addition a hard decision for him to make.

The often-injured starter hasn't pitched many innings since undergoing Tommy John surgery as a member of the Detroit Tigers back in 2021. His excellent start to the season had many fans wanting Turnbull to be permanently given a spot in the rotation, but injuries would ultimately make 2024 another lost season for the veteran pitcher.

While the final roster for the NLDS is still unknown, we do know that the Phillies have eight spots to fill when determining who they intend to carry in the bullpen. With a range of options at Topper's disposal, it will interesting to see who makes the final cut when all is said and done. Turnbull is maybe too far behind at this point to be trusted with a roster spot.