He will almost certainly throw his next pitch in the minors, but in the meantime he will accumulate major league service time while he is on the major leagues IL, which would not have been the case had he reported to Toledo first, then went on the minors IL. Apparently Turnbull’s service time is close enough where it might make a difference in how soon he can become a free agent.
As for Boras, I don’t know where he fits into the equation. Trumbull met with Harris, Hinch, and Fetter after his terrible start on Saturday and they identified some things they want Turnbull to work on in the minors. Then, according to Harris, shortly after Turnbull left the room he called back to say he was hurt. The Tigers optioned Turnbull the next day. Nothing happened for a couple days, then Turnbull hired Boras on Wednesday. Boras says he expedited the medical review and then the Tigers put Turnbull on the IL on Thursday. Meanwhile he accrues major league pay and service time.
I’m getting a feeling Turnbull was kind of dicking around with the Tigers for a few days, they went back and forth discussing who knows exactly what, Turnbull then officially hired Boras, whom Turnbull may or may not have consulted with beforehand, and then Boras put pressure on the Tigers to rescind the option and put Turnbull on the big league IL. From Turnbull’s standpoint, it’s the more lucrative, advantageous move. From the Tigers standpoint, I gotta wonder how appreciative they are of Spencer Turnbull as an integral part of the team. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Tigers try to get him as healthy as possible and then offer him in a trade package, although I don’t see how he can headline any trade himself.