LAKELAND, Fla. — On May 18, 2021, Detroit Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull pitched the eighth no-hitter in franchise history and first since Justin Verlander in 2011.
“It feels like a lifetime ago,” Turnbull said Wednesday at the opening of spring training.
Less than three weeks later, Turnbull removed himself from his June 4 start against the Chicago White Sox due to forearm tightness. By July 29, he underwent Tommy John surgery to fix the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow.
After 18 months, Turnbull is finally ready to pitch in games again. The 30-year-old aims to log 30 starts this season and reestablish himself as a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.
“Hopefully, no limitations,” Turnbull said. “We’ll see how spring goes. I know A.J. (Hinch, manager) has a few extra rest days scheduled for me, but I think pretty normal for the most part. I’m treating it like a normal spring.”
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Getting to this point wasn’t easy.
It never is for Tommy John victims.
“I could write a book, but I’ll hold off for now,” Turnbull said. “I was forced to learn patience and forced to learn more about who I am outside of baseball. It’s easy to get your identity wrapped up in your talent and what you can do.”
Turnbull reflected on himself — the person, not the pitcher — during his rehabilitation process. He discovered personal shortcomings, so he worked on those faults in search of becoming an all-around better person.
He also felt depressed, anxious and fearful at times.
“You have a lot of downtime, and it gets hard,” said Turnbull, who spent time in Charlotte, Tampa and Dallas throughout the offseason. “I’ve had to battle a lot of that over the last year and a half. I’ve learned a lot about myself. A lot of therapy, a lot of workouts, a lot of monotonous stuff. But I feel good.”
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Turnbull hasn’t pitched in a game since June 4, 2021, in Chicago.
He finished the 2021 season with a 2.88 ERA, 12 walks and 44 strikeouts across 50 innings in nine starts. His fastball averaged 93.9 mph, and his slider generated a 37.6% swing-and-miss rate.
“My stuff is there right now,” Turnbull said. “I’m sure the velocity will start ticking up as I start getting the adrenaline rush in games. But I’ve been like 92 (mph) in my bullpens, so it’s pretty close. All my pitches feel good. Same movements. … The cut and sink is all back. The curveball feels better, and the changeup feels better. The slider is about where it was.”
Turnbull planned to pitch professionally in the 2022 season, regardless of the competition level, and the window to capitalize opened in September. But the Tigers had been eliminated from postseason contention, and he wasn’t physically prepared to speed up his recovery.
“It was kind of a setback,” he said. “I was already going to be pushing it to make it back last year at all, and I just wasn’t quite ready, so there was no reason to push it. I was dealing with trying to get back into the swing of things. I realized I wasn’t going to be ready, so I just slowed down.”
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Pitchers and catchers reported to spring training Wednesday, and Turnbull is scheduled to throw his first official bullpen Friday at the TigerTown backfields.
Turnbull tossed an unofficial bullpen Sunday for Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter.
During that bullpen, Hinch, entering Year 3 with the Tigers, noticed a positive sign.
Turnbull looks physically ready to pitch.
“He’s in a great place,” Hinch said. “He looks really good. He looks stronger, noticeably stronger. I don’t see really any issues other than we’ll get him in the third pitching group and get him up and running.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.