Do the Phillies have any reason to believe in Taijuan Walker?
The last thing I was expecting to hear from Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the first week of spring training was gloating about Taijuan Walker. For some reason, Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski were impressed with what they saw from him on Wednesday.
“He looked very good,” Thomson said during a team press conference. “He commanded the baseball, both sides of the plate. He spun the ball very well. He looks like he’s on a mission, and it looks like he worked extremely hard.”
On a mission? To what, steal another $72 million? This Walker contract is without a doubt one of the worst for the Phillies in recent history.
Taijuan Walker’s contract is a bad deal
Walker and the Phillies agreed on a four-year, $72 million deal in 2023 and are still on the hook to pay him $18 million per year through 2026. Walker is headed into his 13th season as a major league pitcher at the age of 32. The odds of him somehow returning to who he was with the Diamondbacks in 2017 or the Mets in 2021-22 are highly unlikely.
Sep 24, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) looks on after pitching against the Chicago Cubs in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
I defended and supported Taijuan Walker after the 2023 season. He gave the Phillies 15 wins with an ERA+ of 98 while throwing over 172 innings. He ate innings, was productive, and benefited from good run support. Then 2024 happened.
He went from starting pitcher to Italian chef with all the meatballs he was serving opposing teams. He ranked in the bottom one percent in all of baseball in the following categories: exit velocity, expected batting average, expected slugging, weighted on-base average, expected weighted on-base average, expected weighted on-base average on contact, and expected ERA. On top of that, he was bottom three percent in strikeout percentage. It became impossible to defend him or trust him on the mound, he finished the season with a -1.6 WAR.
