It could be time for Taijuan Walker's new role as Phillies search for bullpen answers

New York Times

2 days ago

PHILADELPHIA — Last weekend, during his eight-day layover between starts, Taijuan Walker attempted to compensate with a 60-pitch bullpen session at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif. This was the best he could do, because everyone involved knows this situation is less than ideal. The Phillies were forced to move Walker back into their rotation just as they discussed making him a late-inning reliever for the first time in his career.
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'I mean, it's kind of hard to get into a good routine, good rhythm,' Walker said after a 6-2 Phillies loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. 'But I felt good, so…'
They started him Friday night, knowing they needed length the day after a doubleheader, while also not wanting to push Walker beyond 90 to 100 pitches. He did not allow much hard contact in four innings, but his pitch count rose.
If it feels like the Phillies are walking a tightrope every night their starter does not complete seven innings, it's because they are. They know the composition of their bullpen will change this summer and into October, if they qualify for the postseason. They are trying to survive right now with what they have. When a lineup missing Bryce Harper grounds out 18 times, the margin is even thinner.
The best way to protect a shaky bullpen is to score many runs.
'We have to get back to using the entire field,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said, 'and try to get the ball in the air.'
Christian Yelich did that — an opposite-field, three-run homer on the first pitch lefty reliever Tanner Banks threw him in the fifth inning. That was the game.
The Phillies are not pushing Walker. He was pitching with extra rest, but Thomson lifted Walker with no outs in the fifth inning. Walker had thrown 89 pitches, his most in a game since April 14. The club intends to shift Walker into the bullpen, for good, when Aaron Nola returns. They are intrigued by Walker's potential in higher-leverage situations based on his two relief appearances in May. But that intrigue is solely rooted in the fact that he's just someone else for them to try. They do not have many levers to pull right now.
'I don't want to flip him back and forth,' Thomson said. 'So we got a lot of things to talk about.'
A lot of what the Phillies want to do now and later hinges on Nola returning to form. He threw an abbreviated bullpen between games of Thursday's doubleheader and reported good progress. He will throw another bullpen Sunday. Then, he could face hitters in a simulated session before making a minor-league rehab start. That means Nola would not return to the Phillies until sometime in mid-June, making this almost a monthlong absence.
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Given that timeline and the lackluster state of the bullpen, the Phillies could consider bumping Walker to the bullpen sooner and replacing him in the rotation with Mick Abel, who also pitched Friday night. He allowed one unearned run in 4 2/3 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley with eight strikeouts and three walks that ran his pitch count high.
Abel showed the Phillies a great deal in his big-league debut. He must spend 15 days in the minors; he's eligible to be recalled Tuesday if the Phillies pursue that route.
It's not complicated math: The Phillies have to decide whether their current club is better with Walker in the rotation and Abel honing his craft in the minors or with Abel having another crack at big-league hitters while Walker transitions into a role he's never held during 13 big-league seasons.
None of it is ideal, which is why the Phillies plan to seek bullpen changes later this summer. Until then, it's survival.
Walker, who looked like a sunk cost last September, has contributed more in 2025. He'd just like some direction.
'It's a little tough,' Walker said. 'But I'm just going to go out and do what I can. Control what I can.'
Walker tweaked his slider earlier this month to throw a sweeping one; he generated five swings-and-misses on the 18 sliders he threw Friday. But Jackson Chourio smacked a hanging slider in the fifth inning for a double that ended Walker's night.
He touched 95 mph with his sinker but sat 92 mph. The Phillies think Walker could live closer to 94 mph as a reliever.
Walker is willing.
'My goal is to help any way I can,' he said. 'I'm pretty confident in my stuff. With this new slider, I feel pretty confident in it. If I have one inning to blow it out, whatever it is, I feel like my stuff would play up just a little bit more. Knowing that I got one inning, just let it eat.'
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The risk lies in removing Walker from the rotation. The Phillies have stuck with their plan for Andrew Painter, the club's top prospect, who tossed another five strong innings Thursday at Triple A. He's at 28 1/3 innings for the season as the Phillies deliberately build his workload.
'He's right at where we want him,' Thomson said.
So there are no intentions to disrupt that. Thomson said Painter will have rest at the All-Star break in mid-July and indicated Painter would not be in the majors before then. The Phillies, all along, have set 'July-ish' as a target for Painter. Plans are made to be changed; if the Phillies have a rotation need in late June or early July, they could turn to Painter.
The Phillies are desperate for someone else to enter the late-inning mix. Banks has seen an uptick in his strikeout rate, but he's had trouble with home runs. Carlos Hernández throws 100 mph, but two months of outings have only served as further evidence that he lacks command. Joe Ross appears to be a lower-leverage, multi-inning reliever. José Ruiz has been hit around since his return from the injured list.
Walker would be an unlikely reinforcement. For now, it might be the best the Phillies can do.