Rob Thomson has been taking his time to consider a very important decision. During an update on Saturday, he made it clear that he hasn't made the decision yet.
The Phillies now have Taijuan Walker back, adding to what seems to be the best pitching staff in the league so far.
The Phillies' starting rotation went into a game against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night leading all of MLB with 194.2 innings pitched, and leading the National League with a collective 2.54 ERA, which was second overall.
This was mainly due to the recent performances of Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suarez. Wheeler and Aaron Nola have also started well, and Spencer Turnbull has been great in Walker’s place.
Turnbull has a 2-0 mark with a 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings pitched. Thomson might find it challenging to justify Walker’s return leading to Turnbull’s role change.
Turnbull has been performing well, and Thomson might find it difficult to convince others that Walker’s return means Turnbull goes back to his original role.
Deciding to do so now seems hard enough.
With Walker's return, the team has had to adjust the starting lineup. Thomson mentioned the possibility of a six-man rotation at some point, but that's not happening soon.
Thomson has been saying for a while that he will come up with a plan soon. However, when he was expected to unveil it on Saturday, there were still questions.
“(Cristopher) Sanchez is available out of the ‘pen today, because he’s on full rest,” Thomson said of his fifth starter and Saturday bullpen piece. “If he doesn’t pitch today, he’ll start Tuesday, and then Turnbull will go to the bullpen tomorrow on full rest, so he can be our long guy (there) for the time being. If (Turnbull) doesn’t pitch (Sunday), it sets up a potential piggyback on Tuesday.”
A “piggyback” would be both Sanchez and Turnbull splitting duties on Tuesday. So … got that?
Turnbull claims that he understands, and has been saying the right things. After a victory over the Chicago White Sox on April 19, Turnbull said he’d like to make it hard for Thomson to decide to put him back in the bullpen.
Turnbull said, “I want to start,” but quickly added, “… all those decisions aren’t really up to me. I’m just here to help the team win, whatever role that is.”
It seems Turnbull has been passing the same message on to his manager.
“He can give you length, obviously,” Thomson said of Turnbull. “He gives us another guy that can get on right-handed hitters. We’ve struggled a little bit with that. I have the confidence in him to put him into (late-inning) leverage (situations), so for the time being I think it’s the right way to go.
He wants to begin, but he said in the end he'll do anything to assist the team in winning.
So far, for Turnbull and to a much lesser extent Sanchez (1-3, 3.68 over six starts), the discussion has been more about the streak they've been on rather than the positions they're playing for this team. To Thomson, Walker's presence can only improve that.
Thompson on Saturday dismissed the idea that Walker — who did take the mound for the first time last Sunday, giving up six earned runs over 6.1 innings, but still ending his day with a W — should be anything but a starter. … At least for now, that's the case.
Instead, the manager's main plan is to explore other options for Turnbull and fifth starter Sanchez.
Turnbull appeared in only 61 games (60 starts) over five seasons (pandemic included) with the Detroit Tigers before signing with the Phils. For Detroit over that time he went 12-29 with a 4.55 ERA.
Perhaps at 31, Turnbull has found something better … and now might not be the time to interfere with that.
“Yeah there is concern,” Thomson admitted. “He’s pitched so well. But Sanchy has pitched pretty well, too. Yeah, there’s always concern when you’re doing something like that. That’s why it’s a difficult decision.”
Challenging indeed.
For Turnbull and this rotation, it's been very good so far … but what might happen by adjusting two of the starters to make room for innings eater and runs allower Walker?
“He got 15 wins last year,” Thomson countered about Walker, who wasn't chosen to pitch for even 15 seconds in the postseason last fall. But it's clear the status of this decision is still very fluid.
“Great problem to have, tough problem to solve,” Thomson said. “And a tough decision to make.”
Contact Rob Parent at [email protected]
