MLBTR Podcast: The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Red Sox firing manager Alex Cora and several coaches (0:30)
- The Padres signing Lucas Giolito (27:30)
- The Phillies firing manager Rob Thomson and releasing Taijuan Walker (39:00)
- The Guardians promoting prospect Travis Bazzana (59:45)
Check out our past episodes!
- Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here
- Lenyn Sosa Traded, And Injury Concerns For The Astros, Cubs And Orioles – listen here
- Previewing The 2026-27 Free-Agent Class – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Phillies Release Taijuan Walker
The Phillies have released veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker, per a club announcement. Philadelphia also optioned right-hander Alan Rangel to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled right-hander Nolan Hoffman.
Walker, 33, is in the final season of a four-year, $72MM contract that didn’t pan out at all as the team hoped. It was a surprisingly large contract at the time he signed the deal. Walker was fresh off a solid 29-start showing with the Mets (3.49 ERA, 157 1/3 innings), but his rate stats didn’t support that level of run prevention. Walker had a decent season as an innings eating, back-of-the-rotation starter in year one of the contract (4.38 ERA, 172 2/3 frames), and he posted solid results between the rotation and bullpen in 2025 as well (4.08 ERA, 123 2/3 innings).
The other two seasons of the contract have been a nightmare. Walker was one of the least-effective pitchers in the sport in 2024, yielding a 7.10 earned run average across 83 2/3 innings. This season has gone even worse. The veteran righty has pitched 22 2/3 innings and been shelled for 25 runs (23 earned) on a whopping 36 hits and 11 walks with only 17 strikeouts. He’s working with the second-worst velocity of his career — ahead of only that disastrous ’24 campaign — and missing bats at his lowest levels ever. Between those red flags and the 9.13 ERA, the Phillies were left with little choice but to move on as they try to crawl out of an 8-16 hole and snap a woeful eight-game losing streak.
The Phillies will remain on the hook for the rest of Walker’s $18MM salary this season. He’s still owed a bit more than $15MM of that sum. Any team that signs Walker would owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on said club’s major league roster or injured list. That amount would be subtracted from what the Phillies owe, but they’re paying the vast majority of the tab even in a best-case scenario.
Ace Zack Wheeler will return to the Phillies’ rotation this weekend, though it’s anyone’s guess how he’ll perform on the heels of a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s posted a 5.85 ERA in 20 minor league rehab innings, albeit with more encouraging rate stats: 28% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, 45.1% ground-ball rate. Wheeler will join last year’s Cy Young runner-up, Cristopher Sánchez, longtime top prospect Andrew Painter, and veterans Aaron Nola and Jesús Luzardo in the Philadelphia rotation.
All told, Walker ends up with 402 2/3 innings of 5.12 ERA ball as a member of the Phillies. He now becomes the second high-priced veteran whose contract will effectively be eaten by the Phillies this season. Outfielder/designated hitter Nick Castellanos was also cut loose from the final season of a five-year, $100MM contract just prior to spring training. He’s since signed with the Padres, for whom he’s batting .146/.196/.208 in 51 plate appearances. As with Walker, the Phillies are paying the vast majority of Castellanos’ $20MM salary. The Padres only owe him the prorated minimum for any time spent in the majors.
Phillies To Activate Zack Wheeler On Saturday
Zack Wheeler will start for the Phillies against the Braves on Saturday night, manager Rob Thomson told reporters (link via Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic). It’ll be his season debut after last year’s thoracic outlet surgery.
Wheeler completed his fifth minor league rehab start on Sunday. He threw four innings and 77 pitches. Wheeler had gotten through 5 2/3 frames over 72 pitches in his previous outing. He should be able to work 80+ offerings in his season debut as long as he’s pitching well. Thomson suggested the Phils would cap him around 90 pitches and six innings in any case.
The Phillies have yet to name their starter for tomorrow’s game against the Cubs, though it’s expected to be an opener in front of Taijuan Walker. They’ll turn to Cristopher Sánchez on Thursday. Andrew Painter will go in Friday’s opener in Atlanta, with Aaron Nola getting the nod on Sunday. That’d give Jesús Luzardo six days of rest before next Tuesday’s series opener against the Giants.
Thomson declined to announce Philadelphia’s long-term pitching plans yet. One would imagine Walker will move into a long relief role after tomorrow’s scheduled bulk appearance. The veteran righty has had a miserable start to the season. Walker has yet to make it beyond five innings in any of his first four starts. He has given up six home runs over his past three appearances.
This is the final season of Walker’s four-year, $72MM free agent deal. If the Philadelphia bullpen were at full strength, they might have had a difficult call in whether to carve out a relief role to keep him on the roster. Recent injuries to Jhoan Duran, Jonathan Bowlan and Zach Pop probably ensure that Walker will hold a roster spot. The Phils can option any of Kyle Backhus, Chase Shugart or Alan Rangel once Wheeler returns.
Walker’s struggles have been just one aspect of a brutal start for the Philly rotation. That was expected to be a strength, but only Sánchez has gotten out to a great start to the season. Luzardo has been frustratingly inconsistent. Nola has struggled with the home run ball for a few years and has allowed just over five earned runs per nine innings. Painter has been their second-best starter on a rate basis, though that’s at least partially because the Phillies have mostly shielded him from facing a lineup three times in a game.
Philadelphia’s rotation ranked 27th in MLB with a 5.48 earned run average entering play tonight. That’ll improve slightly after Luzardo managed 4 2/3 frames of one-run ball, but he walked four batters and threw 100 pitches in an inefficient showing. The Phils lost to the Cubs by a 7-4 score, dropping them to 8-15 on the year. Although it has been overshadowed a bit by the Mets’ horrendous start, this has been a rough couple weeks for the two-time defending NL East champions.
They’ll hope for Wheeler’s activation to provide a spark. His post-injury form remains to be seen. The three-time All-Star was one of the top 5-10 pitchers in MLB before the injury. However, his velocity has been down three miles per hour during his Triple-A rehab work. He’s sitting around 93 mph after averaging 96 last year.
Zack Wheeler On Track For Late April Return
TODAY: Wheeler threw 77 pitches over four innings in today’s outing, recording four strikeouts while allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk. Wheeler told the Trentonian’s Greg Johnson and other reporters that he feels ready to return to the majors, and felt the cooler and rainy conditions for today’s game contributed to his low-90s velocity.
“I’m a high 90s guy, mid 90s guy, and it’s not there right now. You kind of have to pitch a little bit more when that happens,” Wheeler said. “You’ve got to move the ball around and you’ve got to hit your spots, you’ve got to fool guys a little bit more than kind of just rearing back and throwing. I think that’s probably going to be the biggest adjustment, if that is still down when I do come back. Like I said before, hopefully this warmer weather allows me to kind of get back to close to where I used to be at least, and hopefully get there throughout the season.”
APRIL 18: Right-hander Zack Wheeler has been on the mend from thoracic outlet surgery since last September, with an early-season return being the goal for the Phillies. That could happen very soon, as Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Wheeler will make one more rehab start for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils on Sunday. If all goes well, he could rejoin the major league club next weekend for their series against the Braves.
At the time of the surgery, Wheeler’s recovery was expected to take 6-8 months. A return at the short end of that range would have brought him to the opening week of the season and left no time for a full ramp-up. Given that Wheeler has continued to pitch like an ace into his mid-30s, the Phillies were never going to risk bringing him back too early. That said, his recovery was progressing well overall, and manager Rob Thomson indicated last month that the club expected a return not “too far beyond” Opening Day. Evidently, the 35-year-old has shown enough in his rehab stint to rejoin the big-league rotation by the end of April.
Wheeler made 24 starts last year and was in top form the whole way. He posted a 2.71 ERA in 149 2/3 innings with a career-high 33.3% strikeout rate and just a 5.6% walk rate. That performance was good for 4.0 fWAR, which tied him for 11th among big-league starters despite throwing significantly fewer innings than usual. His dominance was interrupted by an IL stint in August for a right upper extremity blood clot, which led to the discovery of venous TOS and his subsequent season-ending surgery. Venous TOS is the less severe form of the injury, with the Diamondbacks’ Merrill Kelly being the best example of returning to form following surgery.
The Phillies are surely hoping Wheeler can do the same. Their rotation has performed unevenly through their first 19 games to the tune of a 5.55 ERA. While Cristopher Sánchez is dominating as usual and Jesús Luzardo and Andrew Painter are outperforming their surface numbers, Taijuan Walker has struggled badly through four starts. He allowed two earned runs in five innings against Arizona last week but has given up at least four earned runs in his other three starts. Most recently, he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks in just four innings against the Braves.
Though he’s likely to get one more start, Walker could lose his spot to accommodate Wheeler’s return, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. That leaves Walker ticketed for a bullpen role, though he’ll surely get more starts throughout the year in the event of an injury. Walker made 17 relief appearances from 2024-25 with unspectacular results. Given his struggles so far in 2026, he’ll likely be limited to low-leverage spots.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Andrew Painter Makes Phillies’ Opening Day Rotation
Phillies manager Rob Thomson informed reporters, including Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the rotation is set for the beginning of the season. Cristopher Sánchez will be the Opening Day starter, followed by Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo, Taijuan Walker and then Andrew Painter. Though Painter is on the 40-man roster, he will be making his major league debut when he takes the ball in that fifth game of the season.
It’s not a surprising outcome. Zack Wheeler is recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and will begin the season on the injured list, as has been expected throughout the offseason. Without Wheeler, it has long seemed like the aforementioned five guys would start the season in the rotation, and that has indeed come to pass.
Though it’s not a stunning development, it’s an exciting debut nonetheless. Painter was once considered one of the best pitching prospects in the league, if not the very best. The 13th overall pick in the 2021 draft, Painter posted a 1.56 earned run average in the minors in 2022, climbing as high as Double-A. It seemed possible he could break camp with the Phils in 2023 even though he would have been a couple of weeks away from his 20th birthday at that time.
Elbow issues popped up in March of that year and scuttled any chance of Painter making the club. He eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in July, which led to him missing the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was back on the mound last year but wasn’t dominant. He was able to make 22 Triple-A starts and throw 106 2/3 innings but with a 5.40 ERA in those. His 23.4% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate were close to average.
The prospect shine isn’t quite as bright as it was a few years ago but Painter is still only 22, about to turn 23 next month, and has lots of future potential. Most top 100 prospect lists had him in the 25 to 50 range coming into this year, a drop from being a top ten guy a few years back but still a strong ranking. The Phils added him to the 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. In four starts this spring, he posted a 2.31 ERA, though with a somewhat lackluster 18.6% strikeout rate and a very low .188 batting average on balls in play.
The rotation mix will surely be in flux as the season progresses. Wheeler isn’t expected to be too far off. He is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game on Monday, per Lauber, Wheeler’s first official game action since his surgery. He will surely need a few weeks to build up but is entering the final stages of his recovery.
Unless the Phillies want to deploy a six-man rotation, they will need to bump someone out when Wheeler is back. Painter has a full slate of options and could be sent back to Triple-A. It’s also possible he out-pitches Walker, which could lead to Painter holding a rotation spot. Walker has been bumped to the bullpen in previous seasons, so it’s entirely possible that could happen again.
Since Painter is still a top 100 prospect and is cracking the Opening Day roster, that means he has a chance to benefit the Phillies via the Prospect Promotion Incentive. If he stays in the majors long enough to earn a full year of service time, then wins Rookie of the Year in 2026 or finishes top three in Cy Young voting in his pre-arbitration seasons, he would net the Phils a bonus draft pick in the future.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Phillies Moving Taijuan Walker To Short Relief
For the second time in as many months, the Phillies are pulling right-hander Taijuan Walker from their starting rotation. Paul Casella of MLB.com reported this morning that Walker’s being moved to the bullpen permanently in a move that will clear the way for right-hander Mick Abel to be promoted to the majors and fill in for Aaron Nola in the starting rotation. Matt Gelb of The Athletic added further context to that reporting, noting that Walker is specifically moving to a one-inning, setup role in order to help bolster the club’s late-inning mix. Meanwhile, Gelb notes that Abel will get at least two starts for the Phillies before Nola’s return, which the club currently expects to occur near the middle of June.
It’s a big change for Walker, who has just ten career relief appearances and has served exclusively as a long relief arm in those outings. Gelb notes that Walker has never pitched on back-to-back days before in his career, an adjustment that will surely take some getting used to for the right-hander. Still, it’s understandable for Philadelphia to want to try him in this new role given the state of their pitching staff. Abel is knocking on the door of the majors as a potential rotation option with top prospect Andrew Painter potentially not all that far behind, and the Phillies’ rotation is already full when healthy. Without much of a path to a long-term rotation role in the cards for Walker anyway, it makes sense for the club to try him in a new role.
Given that the Phillies recently lost Jose Alvarado to a PED suspension, saw Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez depart in free agency over the winter, and have watched Jordan Romano struggle badly this year after being signed to serve as the club’s closer, there’s perhaps no greater need on the roster than that for a high leverage relief arm to join Matt Strahm in supporting Romano. Walker will now be tasked with doing just that, and Gelb notes that he seemed intrigued by the idea after his last start.
“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,” Walker said last week, as relayed by Gelb. “Knowing that I got one inning, just let it eat.”
Walker’s departure from the rotation makes room for Abel to join the mix, at least temporarily. The right-hander made his big league debut earlier this season in a spot start and was extremely impressive, tossing six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against zero walks. The Phillies were clearly intrigued by that dazzling performance, and now he’ll get to make at least a couple additional starts. Abel is set to join the club to start Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays, and Gelb notes that after that he’ll be in line to start against the Cubs next week. Those offenses are far more impressive than the Pirates lineup Abel dominated in his big league debut, so these next pair of outings will be a major test for the 23-year-old right-hander.
Phillies Place Aaron Nola On IL With Ankle Sprain
The Phillies announced that they have placed right-hander Aaron Nola on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 15th, due to a sprained right ankle. Right-hander Daniel Robert has been recalled to take his roster spot. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com was among those to report that prospect Mick Abel will be promoted to make his major league debut but only to make a spot start on Sunday. After that, he will be optioned to Triple-A and Taijuan Walker will take Nola’s rotation spot. In other Philly news, manager Rob Thomson relayed that prospect Moisés Chace will undergo Tommy John surgery. Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer was among those to pass that along.
Per March, Nola injured his ankle prior to his recent start in Cleveland. He went on to allow four earned runs in five innings in that game. His next start was even worse, as Nola allowed nine earned runs over 3 2/3 innings against the Cardinals on Wednesday.
Perhaps the ankle injury provides an explanation for those outings but Nola was also struggling before that, with a 4.61 earned run average over his first seven starts this year. Though for what it’s worth, he was building a bit of momentum. On April 27th, he pitched seven innings of one-run ball against the Cubs, then six scoreless against the Diamondbacks on May 3rd.
Whether it’s due to the ankle or not, Nola now has a 6.16 ERA on the year. His 23.6% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 44.6% ground ball rate are all decent numbers, but 11 home runs have pushed more runs across the plate. SIERA, which expects home run rate to normalize, has Nola at 3.66 this year. However, home runs have always been a part of Nola’s game, so that might not be the best metric in this specific instance. The Phillies haven’t provided an estimate for how long they expect Nola to be out but it seems he will miss at least a few turns.
Nola’s injury will allow Walker to return to the rotation. He started his season with six great starts, posting a 2.54 ERA in those. But when Ranger Suárez was ready to come off the IL, someone had to go. Walker got bumped to the bullpen as the Phils ran with a rotation of Suárez, Nola, Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez. Walker made two relief appearances, each three innings long. The first was scoreless but he allowed three earned runs in the second one, which came in relief of Nola on Wednesday.
He’ll retake a rotation spot next week, but Abel will get to make his major league debut in the interim. A former first-round pick, Abel’s prospect stock has dropped a bit due to some inconsistent control. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 375 minor league innings and struck out 26.9% of batters faced but he also gave out walks at a 13.3% clip, leading to a 4.75 ERA.
Despite the rough edges, the Phils added him to their 40-man roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. The early results are encouraging this year. He has a 2.53 ERA through eight Triple-A starts, with a 26.6% strikeout rate and 49.2% ground ball rate. His 9.9% walk rate is still a bit higher than par but an improvement for him. He’ll get a chance to make a brief debut this weekend.
As for Chace, it’s obviously an unfortunate blow for him. Acquired from the Orioles in last summer’s Gregory Soto trade, Chace is one of the club’s top pitching prospects and a fringe top 100 guy. He wasn’t on every list but FanGraphs had him at #74 coming into the year, ESPN at #90 and Baseball Prospectus put him in their #101 slot.
Like Abel, Chace was given a 40-man spot in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He started this year at Double-A and could have worked his way to Triple-A or even the majors during the 2025 season. That will now be on pause for a long time, as he should be rehabbing until the summer of 2026. The Phils could recall him and place him on the major league 60-day injured list at some point if they so choose. Doing so would open a 40-man spot but would also require Chace to start earning big league pay and service time.
Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images
Phillies Moving Taijuan Walker To Bullpen
After activating southpaw Ranger Suarez from the 15-day injured list earlier today, the Phillies are making a change to their rotation mix to get back down to five starters. As manager Rob Thomson told reporters, including Lochlan March of the Philly Inquirer, that means a move to the bullpen for right-hander Taijuan Walker. Thomson did not rule out the possibility of a six-man rotation in the future, but with an day off on Monday the Phillies are planning to use five starters for at least the next couple of weeks.
Walker’s been in the rotation since Opening Day and has pitched quite well in his six starts this year. The 32-year-old has an impressive 2.54 ERA (125 ERA+) in 28 1/3 innings of work, although his peripherals are not quite as impressive. A 17.6% strikeout rate is well below par, and Walker’s 10.4% walk rate is much too high for a pitcher who’s missing bats at a below-average clip. He’s done well to mostly keep the barrel of the ball and induce soft contact so far, but peripherals like his 4.01 FIP and 4.71 SIERA suggest that he’s more of a number five type starter than the mid-rotation results he’s posting so far.
Of course, even being a serviceable back-of-the-rotation piece is a massive improvement over Walker’s performance last year. 2024 was the right-hander’s second season in Philadelphia, and it could have hardly gone worse as he pitched to a brutal 7.10 ERA with a 6.94 FIP in 83 2/3 innings of work spread between 15 starts and four relief outings. Following a season where Walker had more appearances where he allowed at least four runs (seven) than where he allowed two runs or less (six), the right-hander’s position within the Phillies organization was unstable enough that the club opted to trade for Jesus Luzardo and sign Joe Ross in a bid to make Walker less necessary. That left some to suggest he was in danger of being cut ahead of Opening Day entering camp, but the injury to Suarez paved the way for Walker to not only remain on the roster but in the club’s rotation.
Though he’s headed back to the bullpen at this point, Walker’s solid work over the season’s first month was more than enough to solidify his roster spot, and at this point the question regarding Walker is no longer whether he can avoid a disastrous repeat of 2024, but rather if he can continue pitching well enough to force Philadelphia brass into considering a six-man staff at some point this year. Of course, the Phillies wouldn’t necessarily need to consider a six-man rotation in order for Walker to make his way back into the mix, as he’s presumably the next man up to make starts until the Phillies decide to promote Andrew Painter.
The Phillies have generally enjoyed good health in their rotation mix in recent years, but injuries are always a risk when it comes to starting pitchers. There’s no better proof of this concept than veteran right-hander Aaron Nola, who has been one of the most durable and reliable innings-eating arms in the sport for nearly a decade at this point. As noted by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, however, Nola was experiencing a neck issue prior to today’s game. That led the Phillies to activate Suarez from the injured list today rather than the day of his planned start tomorrow in case they needed a starter to help cover for Nola. Fortunately, Nola wasn’t stopped from pitching by the neck problem and went on to pitch six shutout innings while striking out eight in the club’s 7-2 win over the Diamondbacks this evening. Even so, the last-minute injury scare serves as a reminder that an opening could open in the Philadelphia rotation at any given moment, and it would be a surprise to see Walker passed over for any spot start opportunities as long as he remains effective in his move back to the bullpen.
Phillies To Activate Ranger Suarez On Sunday
Ranger Suárez has made four rehab starts since beginning a minor league assignment three weeks ago. That includes 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Lehigh Valley over the weekend. After building to 78 pitches, he’ll make his return to the majors this weekend. Manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer) that Suárez will be activated to start against Arizona on Sunday.
That may push Philadelphia to a six-man rotation. Thomson acknowledged yesterday that the Phils were considering moving to a six-man staff rather than bumping anyone to the bullpen (link via Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia). Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez and Taijuan Walker have combined for every Phils start this season.
Walker was the one who would have been ticketed for the bullpen had Suárez been healthy. He’d be the candidate to move back to relief, but he has pitched fairly well through his first five starts. Walker owns a 2.78 ERA across 22 2/3 innings. His 20% strikeout rate and 10% walk percentage are each a little worse than average, but he has allowed two or fewer runs in all but one of his outings. Walker has found a little extra velocity relative to last season. He’s averaging 92 MPH on both his four-seam and sinker after sitting around 91 a year ago.
Luzardo, Wheeler and Sánchez have all been excellent. Nola has struggled while operating with diminished velocity, but his rotation spot clearly isn’t any jeopardy. The Phils have already confirmed that Suárez will return to the rotation, while Sánchez’s recent forearm soreness seemingly amounted to nothing. The question is essentially whether the Phils feel Walker will be more valuable in a long relief role or taking the ball every sixth day.
Walker will make at least one more start. He’s tabbed as the probable pitcher tomorrow against Brad Lord in their series finale against Washington. Wheeler and Sánchez have gone over the past two days. The Phils will run with Luzardo, Nola and Suárez against the D-Backs. They’re off on Monday before a stretch of nine game days.
While the rotation has been a strength, Philadelphia’s relief group has struggled. Their bullpen entered play Wednesday with a 5.25 ERA that was better only the Nationals’ 7.47 mark. No bullpen has blown more leads than Philadelphia’s eight. José Alvarado, Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks (to a lesser extent) are the only Phils relievers who have pitched well. Righties Orion Kerkering and Jordan Romano, both of whom have worked in high-leverage spots, have each had particularly poor starts. Walker is unlikely to be an impact relief weapon, but he’d give Thomson another option in the middle to late innings if they move him back to the bullpen after tomorrow.
Ranger Suarez To Begin Season On Injured List; Taijuan Walker To Rejoin Rotation
March 24: Suarez will indeed open the 2025 season on the injured list, per Zolecki. Walker will be the Phillies’ fifth starter. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells the Phillies beat that Suarez could potentially pitch in the majors sometime in April if he continues his current progression with no setbacks.
March 23: Ranger Suarez has been dealing with a bad back over the last week, and it seems like the Phillies will give the left-hander some extra time to recover by placing him on the 15-day injured list to begin the season. Manager Rob Thomson more or less confirmed the move today, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki noted that Thomson told reporters post-game that the Phillies “expect Ranger to go on the IL,” but stated in an interview during the game that Suarez would definitively be placed on the 15-day.
The move seems largely precautionary, as Thomson said “We don’t want this thing to linger. So if we do officially IL him, we don’t think it’s going to be long.” Zolecki notes that Suarez might just miss a single start if he spends only the 15-day minimum on the sidelines, due to the three-day backdating available for IL placements and the fact that the Phillies have three off-days within the first 12 days of the regular season.
Back problems hampered Suarez last year, effectively bifurcating what initially seemed like a breakout season for the left-hander. Suarez had a sparkling 1.83 ERA over his first 98 1/3 innings of the 2024 campaign, and then a 6.54 ERA in his final 52 1/3 innings once his back started causing problems. Suarez skipped the All-Star Game to spend the break resting his back, but Philadelphia ended up placing him on the 15-day IL anyway, which kept Suarez out of action for a month.
This early-season IL trip might well help Suarez get in front of any injury problems early, as trying to pitch through his bad back might’ve only worsened the issue last year. The Phillies aren’t really losing much by resting him early, plus Taijuan Walker is on hand to step into the rotation.
Walker has looked good for much of Spring Training, though his last start saw the Yankees tee off for six earned runs over 3 2/3 innings of work from the right-hander. As always, spring results aren’t necessarily as important as process, and Zolecki writes that Walker’s four-seamer has added over three miles miles per hours of added velocity, plus Walker’s splitter has also looked better. In a sense, there’s nowhere to go but up for Walker after a dismal 2024 season that saw him post a 7.10 ERA in 83 2/3 innings.