The Blue Jays announced this afternoon that theyve recalled right-hander from Triple-A Buffalo. In a corresponding move, right-hander was optioned to Triple-A. Turnbull, 32, signed with Toronto on a last month. The right-hander was added to the 40-man roster at the time of the signing but agreed to be optioned to the minor leagues at the time of his signing so he could build up his arm after mi sing all of Spring Training due to being unsigned. He made his fifth rehab appearance on Friday, when he threw 80 pitches acro s 4 2/3 innings of five-run ball against the John Olerud Jersey Mets Triple-A affiliate. Despite those shaky results, it represented Turnbulls longest appearance both in terms of pitch count and batters faced. That may have been close enough to a full big league start that the Jays were comfortable adding him back to the roster, but its worth noting that Turnbulls optional a signment could only last a . That window would have expired tomorrow, meaning that Turnbulls addition to the roster was imminent unle s he suffered an injury or agreed to a longer stay in the minors. Despite his shaky rehab outings, the addition of Turnbull into the fold should hopefully provide a stabilizing force for a Jays pitching staff in serious need of reinforcements. The righty had an up-and-down career over five years with the Tigers where he at times flashed the ability to be a quality mid-rotation arm but was too often held back by injuries. He enjoyed his healthiest season in years with the Phillies last year, and while he did ultimately mi s the second half of the season with a lat strain he made 17 appearances (including seven starts) where he pitched to an impre sive 2.65 ERA with a 3.85 FIP and 3.67 SIERA aro s 54 1/3 innings of work. He struck out a career-high 26.1% of opponents while walking a fairly manageable 9.0%, and despite the season-ending injury re-entered free agency with a fairly strong argument for a solid contract. While he ultimately lingered on the open market long enough to get snapped up by the Blue Jays on what was effectively a $1MM guarantee, the talent Turnbull flashed last year would go a long way to shoring up a beleaguered pitching staff in Toronto. Theyve been operating with a four-man rotation of late, and it seems fairly likely that Turnbull will now join that mix at least until an injured pitcher like or is ready to step back into a rotation role with the team. With no starter in line for their game against the Cardinals on June 11, it would be no surprise if the right-hander ends up taking the ball that day. With that being said, suggested the po sibility that Turnbull could either begin his time with the Jays in the bullpen or perhaps piggyback with southpaw , who has been pitching in a long relief role for Toronto this season. Turnbulls no stranger to a swing role after his work in Philadelphia last year; he started his first six appearances with the Phillies before moving to the bullpen last May and being utilized in a flexible role that saw him make both single-inning relief appearances lasting le s than 20 pitchers and multi-inning appearances that pushed 60 pitches. Whether the Blue Jays ultimately decide to start Turnbull or use him in the bullpen at first, that flexibility is sure to come in handy during his time with the club. Mike Matheny Jersey
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