Phillies’ Release of Taijuan Walker Cements His Unfortunate Place in Franchise History

The worst pitching contract in Phillies history didn’t end with a horrific injury or a wave of controversy. Instead, it ended quietly, on a Thursday in Chicago with a 9.13 ERA and a $15 million check. Taijuan Walker cost Philadelphia $72 million. He produced 1.9 wins above replacement over four seasons. Now the franchise is paying him to go away after no other MLB team would take him.

Fresh off a career-best season for the Mets in 2022, Walker declined a contract option and decided to explore free agency. It made sense. He was coming off a campaign in which he went 12–5 with a 3.49 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 132 strikeouts against 45 walks in 157 1/3 innings. His 2.7 fWAR was a career best.

The Phillies wound up signing the then-30-year-old to a four-year, $72 million deal. It was a big commitment for a guy who had been inconsistent during his first 10 MLB seasons. Still, Philadelphia rolled the dice and got a decent return in the deal's first year. In 2023, Walker went 15–6 with a 4.38 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and 138 strikeouts in 172 2/3 innings. It was a step back from 2022, as evidenced by his 2.4 fWAR, but he was a serviceable pitcher in a rotation that included Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez. Unfortunately, the outlook changed quickly.

A shoulder impingement left Walker on the shelf to open the 2024 season, and he also wound up seeing time on the IL due to inflammation in his right index finger. He ultimately struggled all season until he was moved to the bullpen. Overall, he made 19 appearances (15 starts) and went 3–7 with a 7.10 ERA, 1.72 WHIP and 58 strikeouts against 37 walks in 83 2/3 innings. His fWAR sank through the floor to -1.2.

A shift to a swingman role only marginally improved the situation, as he finished 2025 with a 5–8 record and a 4.08 ERA 1.41 WHIP and 86 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings. He produced an fWAR of 0.5, but his xERA (4.57) and FIP (5.07) reflected a lack of progress in the big picture.

The bottom fell out this year. Walker took the mound five times (four starts) and allowed an MLB-high 23 earned runs in 22 2/3 innings. The 33-year-old surrendered eight home runs and walked 11 batters while striking out 17. His ERA ballooned to 9.13, and his WHIP was a staggering 2.07.

Walker’s issue this season didn’t come down to one thing. He's allowed an xSLG of .627 on his splitter, which he throws more than any other pitch. His sinker also got hammered to the tune of an xSLG of .494, while opposing hitters battered his third most-used pitch, a cutter, with an xSLG of .652. But his worst pitch has been his four-seamer, which he’s thrown 42 times this year, only for opponents to produce an xSLG of 1.130 off of it. That’s genuinely mind-boggling.

The splitter is the real difference for Walker. In 2022, the best season of his career, opposing batters produced an xSLG of .338 against it. It was his difference-maker, and now it’s one of the worst pitches in baseball.

Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski claims the team tried to trade Walker multiple times. No one wanted him.

It says a lot that the Phillies were willing to eat the remaining $15 million on Walker’s deal just to open a roster spot. They’d already paid Nick Castellanos $20 million to end his Philadelphia tenure in February. Now they’re on the hook for $35 million to two players who aren’t on the roster anymore. Given how Walker had regressed, and the team’s active nine-game losing streak, they didn’t have much of a choice.

In 2022, Dombrowski and the Phillies saw the numbers Walker put up for a division rival and talked themselves into a long-term commitment. Unfortunately, they didn’t look under the hood to see a pitcher whose velocity was rapidly dropping and whose splitter had a one-year jump in effectiveness.

He was never the pitcher that contract required him to be.

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