Phillies Should Remove Struggling Pitcher From Rotation for Next Start

Should the Philadelphia Phillies make a change for their rotation next week?

Apr 7, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) walks off the mound during the fifth inning of the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered another loss on Friday night to the Atlanta Braves, and their poor play of late has continued. 

Despite high expectations this year, the Phillies are not playing good baseball in really any facet right now. The pitching staff has not lived up to expectations so far, and they are really missing Zack Wheeler in the rotation. Furthermore, the lineup is also underperforming, and the right-handed hitters are not getting the job done for the most part. 

In their last 10 games entering Saturday, they have a 3-10 record and have lost three straight series. On Friday night, they were hoping to turn things around against a division rival, but instead were blown out at home. 

Making the start was veteran Taijuan Walker. The right-hander wasn’t great in two of his three starts leading up to this game, and Friday night was a really poor one. Walker allowed seven runs in just four innings of work, and this game was out of reach for the struggling Philadelphia offense early. 

With another bad start in the books for Walker, Rob Thomson has to be thinking about going with another option for his next scheduled start. 

Phillies Should Not Start Walker Next Time Around

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

As of now, Walker is scheduled to start for the Phillies on Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. However, with three really poor performances and an ERA over 9.00 now, it would behoove them to go with another option.

While Wheeler is expected to be back soon, he wouldn’t be ready for a start on Wednesday to take his place and is lined up for a return next weekend against the Braves. 

With Wheeler not being a realistic option for Wednesday, the team can turn to Alan Rangel. So far in the minors this year, he has pitched well with a 1.66 ERA. With Walker struggling so much, moving him out of the rotation for his next scheduled start would send a good message to the team that they are in need of turning things around. 

While pitching hasn’t been great, neither has the lineup. Help will be on the way with Wheeler, but it is impossible to predict the level he might be able to perform up to. Even though it would just be a one-start fix, Rangel makes sense to replace Walker in the rotation on the next go through. With Wheeler set to return soon, this is at least a short-term problem for the team.