Phillies Make Correct Decision Moving on From Taijuan Walker

Taijuan Walker has been released by the Philadelphia Phillies, who made the right move.

Mar 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) walks off the mound after the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

There hasn’t been much that has gone right for the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2026 MLB regular season.

They are riding an MLB-worst nine-game losing streak after being defeated by the Chicago Cubs in 10 innings on April 23. Their run differential is the worst in the league at -51; the second-worst run differential in the league belongs to the Kansas City Royals, who are at -35.

There have been a lot of contributing factors to their struggles, with one of the most prominent being starting pitcher Taijuan Walker. He was tasked with helping compensate for the loss of Ranger Suarez in free agency to the Boston Red Sox and Zack Wheeler being on the injured list to begin the year.

Unfortunately, Walker was unable to take advantage of the opportunity and now finds himself looking for work. Ahead of the team’s game against the Cubs, the Phillies announced they were releasing the veteran right-handed pitcher as part of a roster shake-up.

Phillies make tough but right decision releasing Taijuan Walker

After throwing three innings on April 22, Philadelphia optioned Alan Rangel to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and promoted right-handed pitcher Nolan Hoffman to the 26-man roster.

Walker’s release brings an end to what was a roller coaster few seasons with the Phillies. Signed to a four-year, $72 million contract ahead of the 2023 campaign, and provided the team with very mixed results.

Releasing a player who is owed about $15 million more on his contract is far from ideal, but it was the right decision for the franchise to make. He wasn’t providing the team with a positive impact on the mound, and a move had to be made.

Through five appearances in 2026, Walker had an abysmal 9.13 ERA with a -0.7 bWAR. In only 22.2 innings, he currently leads the Major Leagues in two stats pitchers don’t want to have the most, with four losses and 23 earned runs being charged against him.

Prior to today’s game against the Chicago Cubs, the Phillies recalled RHP Nolan Hoffman from triple-A Lehigh Valley. To make room on the 26-man roster, RHP Alan Rangel was optioned to Lehigh Valley following last night’s game. Additionally, RHP Taijuan Walker was released.

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 23, 2026

His ERA+ of 47 and FIP of 7.82 would both be career-worst marks and prove just how poor his performance has been, as there isn’t much bad luck involved in his ugly statistics.

It wasn’t all bad during his tenure with the Phillies, providing a positive impact in Year 1 of the contract in 2023 with a 2.6 bWAR. He was solid in 2025 in a swingman role, making 34 appearances and 21 starts with 123.2 innings and a bWAR of 1.5.

However, in the other two seasons Walker was with Philadelphia, his production was incredibly underwhelming.

Another reason this move was made is that Wheeler is nearing a return. Someone had to be removed from the rotation to make room for him, and Walker made that an easy decision for the front office and coaching staff to make.