Derrick Turnbow

Apparently the Rays have some level of interest.

Turnbow had a rough 2008 and lost control of his pitches. Where as, in the past, Turnbow simply had awful control, he had none last season. After six innings with Milwaukee in which he issued 12 unintentional free passes, the Brewers demoted Turnbow to Triple-A Nashville. 18 innings and 41 walks later, Milwaukee outright released Turnbow.

From 2005-2007 Turnbow was a solid reliever for the Brewers, despite walk totals that eclipsed six per nine innings. When his ~40 ball% shot up to 46.5%, things got dicey. Turnbow also saw his usual ~12% swinging strikes decrease to 5.9%. At least he still got groundballs, although a LD% of 30.8 and 36 is atrocious, and suggests Turnbow was slinging pitches down the middle of the plate just hoping for a strike call. In his brief 2008 cameo, Turnbow's fastball velocity had dropped by more than two miles per hour, as had his slider and curve, and Turnbow showed a reliance upon his fastball unlike previously.

If he seems busted, well that's because his shoulder seemingly was. The time off has apparently healed the ailment, and Turnbow expects to be 100% by the start of spring training. That should raise some questions, such as, will a season's worth of pitches aggravate the injury again, and whether Turnbow's velocity and limited control will return on a consistent basis.

On a minor league deal, there's really no reason not to. If nothing else, we can see if Xavier Hernandez can fix him, and if he can't, cut bait.