The A’s acquired left-handed reliever Nik Turley from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations.
The A's bullpen lost the best reliever on the free agency market in Liam Hendriks, who agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal with the Chicago White Sox on Monday. While he’s irreplaceable, the team’s reliever situation sits strong. The addition of Turley just adds to their mix.
Last season, Turley posted a 4.98 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings of relief. When he made his MLB debut in 2017, he had three starts with the Minnesota Twins in 10 appearances.
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In 2018, the Pirates signed Turley, but he served an 80-game suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. He then underwent Tommy John surgery, which would force him to miss the 2018 and ‘19 seasons.
The 31-year-old left-hander made the Pirates’ Opening Day roster out of summer camp last season and did manage to put up a fair amount of innings out of the team’s bullpen.
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It appears his fastball can top out around 95 mph, has a decent amount of spin on it and his curveball has some impressive movement on it as well.
Turley was selected by the New York Yankees in the 50th round of the 2008 MLB Draft.