Cubs sign journeyman starter just weeks prior to MLB trade deadline

It's no secret that the Chicago Cubs are going to pursue starting pitching with a purpose at the trade deadline. Jed Hoyer has even said as much in recent weeks.

With Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad still lingering on the injured list, Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown toiling away in Triple-A Iowa, and Justin Steele out for the season, there's room for rotation additions of any kind in Chicago right now. Even the less-beloved "organizational depth" additions.

Chicago Cubs sign veteran right-hander Spencer Turnbull for stretch run

Turnbull, who signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after working out for teams (including the Cubs) earlier this season, was recently let go.

In just 6 1/3 innings at the big league level with the Blue Jays, Turnbull surrendered a 7.11 ERA (5.77 FIP) and hardly looked like the pitcher who dominated at times last year in Philadelphia to the tune of a 2.65 ERA in over 50 innings.

Notably, a lot of Turnbull's success with the Phillies came out of the bullpen, though prior to that, he was exclusively a starting pitcher with the Detroit Tigers. His career-high in innings was set at 148 1/3 in 2019, and he hasn't exceeded 60 innings in the majors in any other season of his career.

Still, this is a no-brainer from the Cubs' perspective. His fastball hasn't been anything special in quite some time, but Turnbull's sweeper was among baseball's best just last season. Given the North Siders' success with that pitch in recent years, it's clear why they'd target a guy with 68 MLB starts on his résumé.

You can think of this move in a similar vein to the Chris Flexen signing from the offseason. A veteran pitcher with some recent success who may be ready to fully convert from a starter to a reliever. In terms of depth, Turnbull does give the Cubs "break glass in case of emergency" options in both the rotation and bullpen.

All that being said, this shouldn't alter any of what the Cubs have been planning for the trade deadline. This is purely a depth move, one that smart organizations make when they've already been bombarded by injuries.

Expect Turnbull to head to Triple-A Iowa to work with the pitching development staff soon, and expect the Cubs to still swing a big trade or two for another starting pitcher before July 31.