The writing was on the wall.
Another bad outing from Taijuan Walker on Wednesday pushed the Phillies' losing streak to eight games and made the decision for the team to part ways with the starting pitcher on Thursday afternoon.
Walker came in out of the bullpen after an opener was implemented to give him a reprieve from his early-game struggles. It did not work.
The righty coughed up a 2-1 lead, ultimately getting tagged for five runs, four earned, on eight hits and serving up two homers in the loss.
It was a tumultuous tenure for the 33-year-old, who signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Phillies prior to the 2023 season. Walker joined the team after being named an All-Star in 2021 and posted a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts in 2022 with the New York Mets.
He posted a 1-4 record with a 9.13 ERA in 22 ⅔ innings this season while struggling mightily in the first innings of his starts. As a Phillie, Walker made 89 total appearances, with 71 being starts, posting a 5.12 ERA. It simply was a signing that did not work out for the Phillies.
The decision was more likely a difficult one for the team beyond the surface. Walker, viewed as a great teammate and hard worker, was well-liked within the clubhouse. However, when your team is marred by an eight-game skid and owns the worst run differential in baseball, moves need to be made.
If the team was middling around .500 baseball, perhaps the Phillies could have held on to Walker and kept him in the bullpen for mop-up duty as a long relief man when needed.
But it’s starting to get quick early for the back-to-back NL East champs, who enter Thursday six games out of first place and tied with the Mets for the worst record in the National League.
Walker is far from the main issues the Phillies are dealing with right now, but it does add to the list of free agent signings during Dave Dombrowski’s tenure that have been released either during spring training or mid-season.
The Phillies entered the season lacking depth organizationally in starting pitching, with not many options aside from Alan Rangel in Triple-A Lehigh Valley to be called upon to fill in when needed. Zack Wheeler returns to the rotation this weekend, potentially providing a way to calm the waters in what has been a disastrous start to the season.
Walker’s release needed to happen.
Is it the move that sparks change? Probably not. Perhaps more moves will be made if the team cannot get out of this tailspin
For now, though, it’s a start.
