Following another early exit from the playoffs, the Philadelphia Phillies entered the offseason with a few clear needs.
They knew that replacements could be needed in the bullpen with Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez both becoming free agents. A shake up was considered for the lineup, but nothing came to fruition outside of adding Max Kepler to the outfield mix.
Their biggest addition was to the starting pitching staff, where Jesus Luzardo was added in a trade from the Miami Marlins.
He will be taking over as the No. 5 starter behind Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez. In the not so distant future, top prospect Andrew Painter is expected to join the mix as well.
Upgrading the backend of the rotation was deemed their No. 1 task this offseason because of the struggles that Taijuan Walker has had on the mound.
One of the top pitching prospects in baseball when he was younger, Walker never quite lived up to the hype. But during a two-year stint with the New York Mets, he started to realize his immense potential.
An All-Star in 2021, he followed that up with a career-best 2.7 WAR campaign in 2022. He made 29 starts, throwing 157.1 innings with a 3.49 ERA and 132 strikeouts.
It was enough of an impression that the Phillies decided to sign him away from their National League East rivals, agreeing to a four-year, $72 million deal.
It turns out the Mets got the final laugh in that situation, as Walker’s contract has become one of the worst in baseball since.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report named this deal Philadelphia’s worst heading into the 2025 season, but he did have some competition for that dubious title.
“It can be debated whether Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner have performed up to their contracts with the Phillies so far, but each have had productive stretches. Taijuan Walker’s contract has turned into an albatross for the Phillies, and it’s unclear whether he’ll have a spot on the team in 2025 even though he’s still owed $36 million,” Kelly wrote.
Walker was a mess in 2024, recording a ghastly 7.10 ERA across 83.2 innings.
His 11.5 H/9, 2.6 HR/9 and 6.2 K/9 were all the worst single-season numbers of his career. The 4.0 BB/9 wasn’t far off from his career worst, which was 4.3 in 2014.
He has shown some positive signs during spring training this year, looking to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster.
His increase in velocity can only help, as he has a 3.86 ERA across 9.1 innings.
Walker has a lot to prove, but it is hard to imagine anything more than a swingman role being available to him out of the gate.
He has his work cut out for him to earn the trust of manager Rob Thomson again.
