Philadelphia Phillies Skipper Hints at Taijuan Walker Getting Rotation Spot

Rob Thomson has suggest Taijuan Walker could earn a spot in the Philadelphia Phillies rotation.

Sep 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) looks on after pitching against the Chicago Cubs in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies upgraded their rotation this winter.

While they did so without making a splashy signing or pulling off a headline-grabbing trade, their deal to acquire Jesus Luzardo from the Miami Marlins could be looked upon as the most successful offseason move in Major League Baseball if they're hoisting the World Series Trophy in October.

There are plenty of reasons for that, but one of them is the improvement of having a top-of-the-rotation arm in the fifth spot instead of Taijuan Walker.

The Phillies thought they were getting the type of arm Luzardo is when they inked Walker to a four-year, $72 million contract ahead of the 2023 campaign.

But so far, that signing has been a dud.

Walker had the worst season of his career in 2024, posting a 7.10 ERA and ERA+ that was 43 points the league average of 100, getting moved into the bullpen towards the end of the year.

The front office knew they couldn't enter the upcoming season with the veteran in their rotation, so they made the trade to bring Luzardo into town, creating one of the best, if not the best, starting units on paper.

While fans have been clamoring for Philadelphia to move off Walker, the amount of money he's owed makes it nearly impossible unless a team has a rash of starting pitcher injuries during spring training and they become desperate to bring someone like the 32-year-old into the mix.

Because of that, the Phillies are entering the 2025 campaign with Walker slated to be a bullpen arm.

They had him go through a rigorous offseason throwing program to increase his velocity, something they believe was a major contributing factor for him not performing well last year.

Walker showed off his newfound fastball speed during his first spring outing over the weekend, and that should give Philadelphia confidence they can call upon him for relief innings throughout the long schedule.

However, manager Rob Thomson might be taking too much from that performance.

The skipper hinted at the possibility of Walker earning a spot in the rotation this spring if others don't perform well, something that is certain to get the already on edge fan base worked up.

"Jobs are up for grabs. The best guy is going to get it," he said per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. "I mean, if somebody else doesn't throw well and he's throwing great, you know? Who knows what's going to happen?"

A lot of that could just be lip service.

Competition is one of the main things Thomson has instilled in the clubhouse when he took over as manager midseason in 2022 when Joe Girardi got fired.

Backing away from that now after another frustrating exit in the playoffs wouldn't make sense.

Still, even suggesting Walker could be a part of the rotation after Luzardo was acquired is enough to get fans to shake their heads.

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