Cardinals could provide Phillies with the ultimate Taijuan Walker escape plan

The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of work to do after another premature postseason exit. This team has enough talent to reach the mountaintop, but for one reason or another, Bryce Harper has ended each season in a Phillies uniform without a ring.

Last season, Dave Dombrowski famously took his foot off the gas pedal around the trade deadline. Rather than sticking to his guns as an aggressive, go-for-broke GM, Dombrowski made a few marginal additions and put faith in the roster as it was constructed. That was understandable on the surface, as the Phillies were a first-place team with a lot of money on the books, but it ultimately proved ineffective. It turns out the Phillies offense needed more than Austin Hays.

There is real pressure on Dombrowski to improve the offense in 2025. That said, the Phillies also need to replace Taijuan Walker, who is coming off of the most dispiriting pitching season in a while. Walker finished the campaign with a 7.10 ERA and 1.72 WHIP across 19 appearances (15 starts). He struck out 58 in 83.2 innings of work, allowing a barrel rate of 13.4 percent, the fourth-worst in all of baseball.

Due $18 million annually through the 2026 season, Walker's contract is a weight around the Phillies' neck. Dombrowski would love to get rid of it, but there are only so many teams willing to take on so much bad money.

Luckily, the St. Louis Cardinals might have the perfect swap in mind.

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Phillies should dial up Cardinals about potential Nolan Arenado-Taijuan Walker trade

John Mozeliak, Chaim Bloom, and the Cardinals are cooking up a rebuild (or retool) in St. Louis. The expectation is that St. Louis will look to shed salary and embrace youth, which puts eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado squarely on the trade block.

Due $64 million through the 2027 campaign, Arenado's contract and age (33) is a potential hangup in trade talks. The expectation, per ESPN's Buster Olney, is that any Arenado trade would involve the Cardinals either eating a chunk of his remaining salary or taking back another bad contract in return.

That is Dave Dombrowski's music, folks. Arenado has been a popular hypothetical target in Phillies circles. He's no longer at his peak, but Arenado can still hit reasonably well and he's an elite defensive third baseman. Infield defense has, uh, not been a strength for Philadelphia in recent years, so Arenado's efficacy in that department could prove beneficial.

Now, is he better than Alec Bohm, who is a regular in offseason trade talks right now? Probably not. Bohm finished last season with 3.0 WAR to Arenado's 2.5 WAR, while Bohm, despite his late-season cold spell, still ended with a higher OPS (.779) than Arenado (.719). The defensive gap is real, but Arenado is 33 with a history of injuries, so it's fair to wonder how long that gap will hold up.

The Phillies shouldn't view Arenado as a Bohm upgrade. But, if a Bohm trade opens the door for another major addition (Alex Bregman or Willy Adames at second base, Garrett Crochet on the mound), Arenado could fill in admirably at the hot corner. There's some hope that his production might uptick in a new situation and a hitter-friendly ballpark, such as Philadelphia. Plus, hey, it's a way out of the Walker contract, in theory. Odds are the Phillies would need to attach a couple prospects to Walker to grease the wheels on such a swap, but Arenado is going to give Rob Thomson much more than Walker at this point.