Royals sign Spencer Turnbull to minors contract

The Kansas City Royals announced that right-hander Spencer Turnbull has been signed to a minor league contract.  Turnbull had been in the Cubs organization on another minor league deal until two days ago, when he triggered an opt-out clause to obtain a release.

It has been an unusual season in many ways for Turnbull, who pitched well for the Phillies in 2024 before a lat strain cut short his year.  Heading into free agency last winter, he didn’t find an acceptable contract until well after Opening Day, when Turnbull signed with the Blue Jays to a prorated deal worth $1,265,306 (or just $1M in remaining money).  He finally made his 2025 debut in June but struggled to a 7.11 ERA over three outings and 6 1/3 innings with Toronto before being released.

The minors deal with the Cubs didn’t result in any more MLB playing time, as Turnbull’s struggles continued with a 9.49 ERA over 24 2/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa.  Overall, Turnbull has a 7.96 ERA over 46 1/3 total minor league innings in 2025, with a lackluster 10.5% walk rate and 18.8% strikeout rate adding to his struggles.

Kansas City would owe Turnbull just the prorated portion of a Major League minimum salary for any time spent on the big league roster, with the Jays covering the remainder of what Turnbull is owed in 2025.  In that sense, there’s really no risk for the Royals in seeing if Turnbull can still turn things around late in the season, and perhaps become an option for the club’s pitching staff down the stretch.

Turnbull could potentially act as rotation depth for a team with multiple starters on the IL, though Cole Ragans may be able to make a return to the Royals sometime in September. Or, Turnbull could bolster the staff in another way by acting as a swingman or multi-inning reliever, akin to his role in Philadelphia in 2024. This hinges on Turnbull finding his old form in at least the minors, of course, but every bit of pitching depth is helpful for a Royals team still battling for a wild-card berth.