By CRAIG POTTER
The 9-year veteran pitcher will get his chance to pitch for Minnesota against San Francisco on Sunday.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Veteran left-handed pitcher Nik Turley, 27, finally is getting the opportunity he has been waiting for for 9 years.
“It’s been a long time,” Turley said of the call-up. “I’m ready for it. I’m happy.
“I’ve always had faith in myself. It was an opportunity here (in the Twins organization) to pitch well.”
Turley added, “It’s a tough game. I’ve been playing for nine years. It humbles you but I think it makes it that much sweeter.”
On Friday night, the Minnesota Twins informed Rochester Red Wings manager Mike Quade that they want Turley in San Francisco on Sunday to pitch against the Giants.
“To have an opportunity to send somebody for the first time is exciting,” said Quade. “He and (Jason) Wheeler are the two guys this year who are first-timers.”
It will be a homecoming for Turley as he grew up in the Los Angeles area, and he signed a minor league contract with the Giants in 2014.
“That will be special to me,” Turley said of his opportunity to pitch against San Francisco.
Turley said the first call he needed to make Friday night would be to his wife, then other family members.
In his last start for the Red Wings, Turley struck out a career-high 15 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders en route to an 8-1 victory Tuesday night, including the first 10 outs he recorded were all by strikeout.
“I think (that game) pushed me over the edge,” said Turley. “It was a great outing for me. It showed enough for me to get the chance.”
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound southpaw and catcher John Ryan Murphy spent some time together in the New York Yankees organization.
“I’ve known Nik for a long time. We came up together through the Yankees,” Murphy said. “He’s getting an opportunity…and I couldn’t be happier for him.”
According to Wikipedia, Turley attended Harvard-Westlake School, where he played for the school’s baseball team. 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. Turley agreed to sign with the Yankees, forgoing college.
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. 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. After the season, the Yankees named Turley their minor league pitcher of the year, 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.
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 won–loss record with a 3.88 earned run average. He started and won Game One of the 2013 Eastern League Championship Series.
Attending spring training in 2014, Turley did not pitch due to arm tightness. The Yankees optioned Turley to the minor leagues. He was released by the team on April 26, 2014. He was re-signed on May 8. Turley signed as a minor league free agent with the San Francisco Giants on Dec. 5, 2014.
Turley signed a minor league contract with the Chicago White Sox in Nov. 2015. He was released on March 26, 2016.
Turley signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox on April 11, 2016. He was released on July 8, 2016. On July 27, 2016 he signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League.
On Oct. 21, 2016 Turley signed a free agent minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. On Oct. 26, 2016 he was assigned to the Rochester Red Wings.
During this season Turley has spent time between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester, with a 4-day stint in the Twins’ Extended Spring Training in Florida. From there he went back to Chattanooga with his last call-up to Rochester coming on June 6.
*EDITOR’S NOTE – The Twins attempted to option Jason Wheeler back to the Red Wings, but the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed him off the waiver wire. The transaction was listed as a trade for cash.
Links
Rochester Red Wings – redwingsbaseball.com
Videos
Nik Turley interview – https://youtu.be/O6SEJ9js388
John Ryan Murphy interview – https://youtu.be/lRwmkHs7cm4
Mike Quade interview – https://youtu.be/7GrmQC0xbEM