Nik Turley

Nik Turley
Turley with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles – No. 20
Pitcher
Born: (1989-09-11) September 11, 1989 (age 35)
La Cañada, California, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Professional debut
MLB: June 11, 2017, for the Minnesota Twins
NPB: May 3, 2022, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
MLB statistics
(through 2020 season)
Win–loss record0–5
Earned run average7.78
Strikeouts33
NPB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record9-6
Earned run average2.48
Strikeouts87
Saves2
Teams
Career highlights and awards
NPB

Nikolas Carlyle Turley (born September 11, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates, and in NPB for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

Career

New York Yankees

Turley with the Trenton Thunder

Turley attended Harvard-Westlake School, where he played for the school's baseball team.[1] He committed to attend Brigham Young University (BYU) on a scholarship to play college baseball for the BYU Cougars baseball team. Out of high school, the New York Yankees selected Turley in the 50th round, with the 1,502nd selection, of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Turley was the third-to-last selection in the draft.[1][2] Turley agreed to sign with the Yankees, forgoing college.[2]

Turley spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League. He pitched for the Staten Island Yankees of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League in 2010.[1] He played with the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2011 and the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2012. He was a Post-Season All-Star with Tampa.[3] After the season, the Yankees named Turley their minor league pitcher of the year,[4] and added him to their 40 man roster after the 2012 season to protect him from being selected by another team in the annual Rule 5 draft.[5]

In 2013, Turley pitched for the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League, and made one start for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League. On the season, Turley had an 11–8 win–loss record with a 3.88 earned run average and was a Mid-Season All-Star with Trenton.[2][3] He started and won Game One of the 2013 Eastern League Championship Series.[6]

Attending spring training in 2014, Turley did not pitch due to arm tightness. The Yankees optioned Turley to the minor leagues.[7] He was released by the team on April 26, 2014.[8] He re-signed with the team on May 8.[9]

San Francisco Giants

Turley signed as a minor league free agent with the San Francisco Giants on December 5, 2014.[10] He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

Chicago White Sox

Turley signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox on November 24, 2015.[11][12] He was released on March 26, 2016.[13]

Boston Red Sox

Turley signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox on April 11, 2016.[14] He was released on July 8, 2016.[15]

Somerset Patriots

On July 27, 2016, he signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League.[16]

Minnesota Twins

After the 2016 season, Turley signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.[17] He pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Class AA Southern League and Rochester Red Wings of the International League before the Twins promoted him to the major leagues on June 11.[18]

He made his debut that day, starting against the San Francisco Giants. Turley allowed four runs on eight hits in four innings.[19] He compiled a 16.39 ERA in 9.1 innings across three starts before being sent back down to Triple-A.[20] He returned on August 18 and pitched out of the bullpen before being optioned two days later.[21][22] He was called up again when rosters expanded in September.[23] On the season, he allowed 22 earned runs in 17.2 innings.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 5, 2017, the Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Turley off of waivers.[24] Turley was suspended for the first 80 games of the 2018 season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.[25] After returning from his suspension, Turley was placed on the Disabled List with an elbow strain. He was outrighted to AAA on October 4, 2018.[26] Turley underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the 2019 season.[27]

He was a non-roster invitee in big league camp in 2020 and even made the opening day roster, before the COVID-19 pandemic.[28][29] He was included on the Pirates' 60-man player pool in June before the start of the shortened MLB season.[30] On July 23, Turley was called up to the Pirates.[31] He pitched to a 4.98 ERA with 20 strikeouts over 21.2 innings pitched in 25 appearances. On January 12, 2021, Turley was designated for assignment by the Pirates following the acquisition of Troy Stokes Jr.[32]

Oakland Athletics

On January 14, 2021, Turley was traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for cash considerations.[33]

Chicago White Sox (second stint)

On March 21, 2021, Turley was claimed off waivers by the Chicago White Sox.[34] On March 30, 2021, Turley was designated for assignment following the signing of Jake Lamb.[35] On April 1, Turley was outrighted.[36] On October 14, Turley elected free agency.[37]

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On November 9, 2021, Turley signed with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball.[38]

Turley made 44 appearances for Hiroshima in 2023, registering a 7–1 record and 1.74 ERA with 42 strikeouts across 41+1⁄3 innings of work. On November 30, 2023, the Carp announced that Turley would not be brought back for the 2024 season, making him a free agent.[39]

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles

On December 27, 2023, Turley signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Pitching style

Turley is 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighs 225 pounds (102 kg). He uses his height to push the ball down into the strike zone and turns his body sideways as he throws to home plate. His pitches include a fastball that averages 90 to 91 miles per hour (145 to 146 km/h), a curveball that averages 77 to 79 miles per hour (124 to 127 km/h), and a changeup.[40] Turley also generates a lot of spin rate on his pitches. In 2020, his fastball ranked in the top 5% and his curveball ranked in the top 15% throughout MLB.[41]

Personal life

Turley is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He intends to serve as a missionary after he retires from baseball.[6]

Turley has been married to Rachel Turley (née Johnson) since 2011. He grew up in La Cañada, California, and has three older brothers, who all played college sports.[2] Turley describes former Yankee Bob Turley as a "distant relative".[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Waggoner, Jim (July 30, 2010). "Staten Island Yankees defeat Connecticut Tigers behind southpaw Nik Turley, 6–3". SILive.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2010. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d "Thunder pitcher Turley forcing Yankees to take notice". Trentonian.com. September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Nik Turley Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  4. ^ Sondheimer, Eric (September 18, 2012). "Baseball: Ex-Harvard-Westlake pitcher Nik Turley receives Yankees honor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  5. ^ "Yankees claim RHP Mickey Storey off waivers". MLB.com. November 20, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  6. ^ a b c Franklin, Paul (September 11, 2013). "Franklin: Trenton Thunder's Nik Turley has family tree rooted in athletes". NJ.com. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  7. ^ Kuty, Brendan (March 12, 2014). "Yankees spring training: Gary Sanchez, Slade Heathcott, Nik Turley sent to minors". NJ.com. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  8. ^ "Yankees add RHP Chris Leroux, send down RHP Greene". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Minor Moves: Raul Valdes, Nik Turley, Ryan Searle". MLB Trade Rumors. May 8, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  10. ^ "Giants sign three minor league free agents". McCovey Chronicles. mccoveychronicles.com. December 5, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  11. ^ Dipietro, Lou. "Three ex-Yankees farmhands sign MiLB deals". yesnetwork.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  12. ^ "White Sox's Nik Turley: Signs with White Sox". CBSSports.com. January 26, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  13. ^ Eddy, Matt (April 4, 2016). "Minor League Transactions: March 25-31". College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Eddy, Matt (April 11, 2016). "Minor League Transactions: April 1-7". College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Eddy, Matt (July 18, 2016). "Minor League Transactions: July 8-15". College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects - Baseball America. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Ashmore, Mike. "Patriots Add Former Yankees Farmhand Turley". Courier News. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Ashmore, Mike (October 23, 2016). "Turley, Twins Agree To Deal For 2017 Season – Somerset Patriots Pulse". Blogs.mycentraljersey.com. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  18. ^ "Nik Turley: From 50th round draft choice to Sunday's Twins' starter". StarTribune.com. June 10, 2017. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "Giants 13-8 Twins (Jun 11, 2017) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  20. ^ Varda, Maija (June 22, 2017). "Nik Turley optioned, Ehire Adrianza to DL". Twinkie Town. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  21. ^ Miller, Phil (August 18, 2017). "Glen Perkins has rough outing in return to Twins but 'good results will come'". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  22. ^ "With Sano officially on DL, Twins recall Vargas". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "Twins to call up Niko Goodrum, Nik Turley, and Buddy Boshers". www.twinkietown.com. August 31, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  24. ^ Rob Biertempfel (September 28, 2017). "Pirates claim left-hander Nik Turley off waivers from Twins". TribLIVE. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  25. ^ ESPN News Services (January 27, 2018). "Pirates' Nik Turley suspended 80 games for performance-enhancing drug use". ESPN. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
  26. ^ "Pirates Outright Nik Turley". MLB Trade Rumors. October 4, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  27. ^ "A's Acquire LHP Nik Turley from Pittsburgh". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  28. ^ "Pirates Announce 11 Non-Roster Invitations". MLB Trade Rumors. January 20, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  29. ^ "Pirates announce opening day roster; Polanco not on it". WTAE. July 23, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  30. ^ "Pirates announce 60-man player pool". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  31. ^ "Transactions". MLB.com. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  32. ^ Mark Polishuk (January 12, 2021). "Pirates Claim Troy Stokes Jr., Designate Nik Turley". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  33. ^ Steve Adams (January 14, 2021). "Pirates Trade Nik Turley To Athletics". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  34. ^ Anthony Franco (March 21, 2021). "White Sox Claim Nik Turley". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  35. ^ TC Zencka (March 30, 2021). "White Sox Sign Jake Lamb". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  36. ^ Connor Byrne (April 1, 2021). "White Sox Finalize Season-Opening Roster". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  37. ^ "Players Recently Electing Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  38. ^ "広島 ２人目新助っ投ターリー獲得！セットアッパー候補最速１５６キロ長身左腕（デイリースポーツ） - Yahoo!ニュース". News.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  39. ^ "Hiroshima Tarly & Anderson did not sign a contract, and Cornier remained". news.yahoo.co.jp. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  40. ^ Pleskoff, Bernie (June 28, 2013). "Yanks' Turley projects to be Majors contributor". MLB.com.
  41. ^ "The A's trade for a pitcher with a 7.78 ERA — but there's an intriguing upside". The Mercury News. January 14, 2021. Retrieved December 18, 2023.