The Milwaukee Brewers faced a difficult task last offseason when they had to rebuild their starting rotation around Freddy Peralta. Corbin Burnes, of course, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles and Brandon Woodruff was out for the year with a shoulder injury. Unfortunately, many of the pitchers they brought in to fill out their rotation also dealt with injuries throughout the year.

This offseason, Milwaukee once again needs to fill out its starting rotation and/or acquire quality depth pieces. Peralta is back, of course, and Tobias Myers proved to be an excellent starter as a rookie in 2023. But Colin Rea, Joe Ross, Jakob Junis, Wade Miley, and Frankie Montas are gone now.

Nestor Cortes was acquired in the Devin Williams trade and he will likely slide into the starting rotation, but there are still questions about when Woodruff and Robert Gasser will be ready in 2025. Additionally, DL Hall and Aaron Ashby fared better as relief pitchers as opposed to starters.

The Milwaukee Brewers Could Sign Former Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Spencer Turnbull

While the Brewers certainly have enough starting pitchers to fill out a five-man rotation, last season and its plethora of injuries showed that the team can never have too many starters.

For this reason, Patrick McAvoy of Sports Illustrated believes that Milwaukee should take a shot on former Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Spencer Turnbull.

“They still should consider adding and one player they should take a long look at is former Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers pitcher Spencer Turnbull.

 

“Turnbull began his career fully as a starting pitcher. He spent the first five seasons of his career as a full-time starter, but also dealt with a lot of injuries.”

 

The oft-injured Turnbull had his best statistical season with the Phillies last year, going 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. He appeared in 17 games, seven of which were starts, but was relegated to the bullpen when the Phillies rotation got healthy. Turnbull then suffered a lat strain in June and was out for the rest of the season.

Prior to joining the Phillies, Turnbull was a long-time member of the Detroit Tigers. However, he was not very successful during his run there, compiling a 12-29 record with a 4.55 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. His worst season came in 2019 when he led the Majors in losses. He was 3-17 with a 4.61 ERA and 1.44 WHIP that year.

Milwaukee, however, is known for its pitching lab and, as Turnbull proved when healthy last season, he does have good stuff and can be a very successful pitcher. If he can be had for a reasonable price, he would be a classic Brewers signing.