Phillies Decide Who Will Be Added to Starting Rotation After Demoting Mick Abel

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a very strong first half of their 2025 season, and in doing so, have had to make quite a few roster moves to ensure they are able to maintain momentum when injuries or setbacks occur.

This has been particularly noticeable with the pitching staff, which has undergone a few iterations throughout these first few months both in the starting rotation and bullpen.

Mick Abel was one of the most high-profile moves, as he was brought into the starting lineup following Aaron Nola's injury with the hope that he would be able to adapt to the MLB level.

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That happened early on with a franchise record being tied in his debut, but he has fizzled out during his most recent starts, sitting with a 5.04 ERA, 1.360 WHIP, 21 strikeouts to nine walks and seven home runs allowed across 25 innings pitched.

This led to him being demoted and sent back to Triple-A, giving him a chance to work through the slump he has been in to get back to the Major League level at some point.

Until then, the Phillies are left without one of their starters, with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez being the only four active.

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With that said, the team has ultimately made their decision on who will start in that role, at least until the All-Star break.

Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that Taijuan Walker will be reinserted into the starting rotation. He'll be given the start on Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants, and then the team will reassess the situation once the All-Star break arrives.

This is an intriguing decision since the team has viewed him as more of a reliever since they moved him there earlier this year, so pushing him back into a starting position is a difficult choice.

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On one hand, they know he's capable since he has started before, but on the other hand, this is going to prevent Walker from getting used to his new relief role, especially if they move him back to the bullpen after the break.

At the end of the day, his job is to pitch and pitch well, so that doesn't change regardless of when he is asked to throw on the mound.

But with the maligned veteran back in the rotation, it will be interesting to see how that plays out for him and Philadelphia during his next start.

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