Headlines

  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Astros To Promote Brice Matthews
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help
  • Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays
  • Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Phillies Moving Taijuan Walker Back To Rotation

By Anthony Franco | September 16, 2024 at 9:01pm CDT

Taijuan Walker will make his return to the Phillies’ rotation on Thursday against the Mets, manager Rob Thomson told reporters (link via Todd Zolecki of MLB.com). Philadelphia had moved the veteran righty to the bullpen at the end of August.

Walker made three relief appearances. He gave up two runs in three innings against the Blue Jays on September 3 and surrendered three runs in two innings to the Marlins four days later. Walker is coming off a better showing on Saturday, when he held the Mets scoreless over three frames. In total, he has allowed five runs (four earned) with only two strikeouts in eight innings since the bullpen move.

That’s not exactly a dominant performance, but the Phils haven’t had a better answer for the fifth starter role. Tyler Phillips, Seth Johnson and Kolby Allard each got one look in the #5 rotation spot. Phillips didn’t make it out of the first inning and gave up six runs against Toronto. Johnson allowed nine runs and didn’t get through the third inning versus Miami in his MLB debut. The Mets tagged Allard for four runs over three innings on Saturday. Johnson and Phillips have already been optioned back to Triple-A; Matt Gelb of the Athletic tweets that Allard will move to the bullpen.

Philadelphia’s fifth starter role has been a mess since Spencer Turnbull suffered a lat strain in June. Walker has a 6.50 earned run average across 14 starts. Cameos for Michael Mercado and the aforementioned trio of Phillips, Johnson and Allard have yielded disastrous results.

Fortunately, that shouldn’t be a big deal in the postseason. Thomson can cut down to his excellent top four of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez. Walker should return to the bullpen in October if he makes the playoff roster. An injury to any of Philadelphia’s top four starters would make things a lot less comfortable, but they’re trending towards a first-round bye with the kind of high-end rotation talent they can rely upon in the postseason.

For now, Walker will have a couple chances to try to finish the regular season on a high note. After Thursday’s start in Queens, he’ll be lined up for a home outing against the Cubs. The Phils only need to turn to their fifth starter twice more in the regular season. They could try to line Walker up for the final start against Washington on September 29 if they’re already locked into the #1 or 2 seed in the National League and want to give an extra day of rest to their projected postseason rotation.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Philadelphia Phillies Kolby Allard Taijuan Walker

Mariners Outright Seby Zavala
Main
Mike Trout Open To Discussing Move Off Center Field
View Comments (22)
Post a Comment

22 Comments

  1. SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs

    10 months ago

    Looks like battery sales will be going up again.

    3
    Reply
    • Bart Harley Jarvis

      10 months ago

      As well as stupid comments.

      5
      Reply
  2. DonOsbourne

    10 months ago

    Is it normal to miss 3 months with a lat strain? Or is Spencer Turnbull just one of those guys who takes a long time to get healthy?

    5
    Reply
  3. TheDayMILBDied

    10 months ago

    There were reports a week or two ago that Turnbull was going to start a rehab assignment at AAA any day now.. Still waiting though.

    Reply
  4. Hibbie

    10 months ago

    Turnbull ??

    Reply
  5. longines64

    10 months ago

    It explains why the Phillies picked up Turnbull late and relatively cheap at $2 M.

    I think the Tigers had him wired as a head case that can also be a malcontent.

    1
    Reply
  6. sad tormented neglected mariners fan

    10 months ago

    So no more word on Spencer?

    Reply
    • htbnm57

      10 months ago

      At best he will be a RP . There is not time to build him up as a SP this season.

      Reply
  7. SadMsFan

    10 months ago

    Jeez, make up your mind America!

    2
    Reply
  8. Cat Mando

    10 months ago

    They may be better off seeing if the can talk Steve Carlton into coming out of retirement.

    Reply
    • Captain Dunsel

      10 months ago

      We already had one Clemens pitch for the Phillies this year; why not Kody’s dad?

      Reply
  9. leftcoaster

    10 months ago

    The Phil’s may have issues come playoff time. Wheeler continues throwing well and Sanchez is rolling but Nola has given up 11 runs and 15 hits in his last 9 innings, Ranger looks cooked and Walker is worthless.

    2
    Reply
    • Lets Go DBacks

      10 months ago

      What playoff team doesn’t have problems at the backend of its rotation?

      Reply
      • Walk Off IBB

        10 months ago

        The Astros do have a big problem at the front end of their rotation though.

        Reply
      • Jackson Rubbit

        10 months ago

        Starters for Phillies only need go 5 . Most dominant bullpen in baseball. U r dismissed.

        1
        Reply
        • User 3594734386

          10 months ago

          Okay BP but not dominant. Actually not even top 5 statistically in the NL. The FO has been tinkering too. Shipping a pair of arms to Baltimore at the deadline, Walker ends up there, … And, the FO knows it.

          Reply
        • Jackson Rubbit

          10 months ago

          The numbers speak for themselves. I don’t need to. The rest of your comment are irrelevant and obvious. Best Record in MLB. You are definitely dismissed.

          Reply
  10. Walk Off IBB

    10 months ago

    “excellent top four of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez”

    Suarez has been a disaster since June and Nola is predictable. He just got blown up by the Marlins and Mets in b2b games.

    1
    Reply
    • Walk Off IBB

      10 months ago

      He’s just very unpredictable. He could go 8 shutout innings or he could give up 6 runs in 5 innings.

      2
      Reply
  11. Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman

    10 months ago

    Maybe the Phillies want to help the Mets knock the Braves out of the postseason?

    Reply
  12. htbnm57

    10 months ago

    He should never pitch again in a Phillies uniform.

    2
    Reply
  13. mikemcsaudi

    10 months ago

    I seriously doubt that he will be on the playoff roster. He’s that bad!

    1
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Recent

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Poll: Which Teams Should Make The Biggest Push For Jarren Duran?

    MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Field

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Giants Outright Sergio Alcántara

    Joe Coleman Passes Away

    Dodgers Outright CJ Alexander

    Trade Deadline Outlook: New York Yankees

    Clarke Schmidt To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Atlanta Braves

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version