Phillies could repurpose postseason zero as the perfect Taijuan Walker replacement

The Philadelphia Phillies' offseason priorities list is vast. Ideally, signing Juan Soto is No. 1. But taking a more realistic approach, the Phillies need to add an impact bat in the outfield, stabilize the offense with fewer strikeout merchants, and find a way to restock the bullpen as several high-leverage arms enter free agency.

Somewhere on that list is replacing Taijuan Walker with someone who, well, isn't Taijuan Walker. The Phillies sent Walker home for the offseason with a list of objectives to get back to his former self, but it's hard to be confident after the disasterclass we all witnessed in 2024. Walker was point-blank the worst semi-regular starter in the National League. He couldn't miss a bat to save his life and the hard-hit rate was egregious for a pitcher who made his name as a soft-contact, groundball pitcher.

The Phillies could scour the free agent and trade markets for an upgrade. Garrett Crochet is the pipe dream. Andrew Painter is scorching hot in the Fall League and hey, he's bound to join the MLB fray sooner than later. That said, the Phillies' best replacement option could be in-house already.

According to ESPN's Kiley McDaniel, teams around the league view prospective free agent Jeff Hoffman as a potential reliever-to-starter signing, in the same vein as Reynaldo Lopez and Jordan Hicks last winter.

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Phillies could re-sign Jeff Hoffman and plant him in starting rotation over Taijuan Walker

This option won't excite every Phillies fan after Hoffman's recent postseason flameout, but it's worth remembering just how electric Hoffman was all season. A couple of shoddy playoff performances shouldn't discount an entire campaign of All-Star work from Hoffman, who finished with a 2.17 ERA and 0.97 WHIP across 68 appearances and 66.1 innings.

Hoffman began his career toggling between the starting rotation and bullpen in Colorado, which — to be frank — did not go well. There's a reason Hoffman made the mid-career switch to a bullpen role, where he has since flourished in countless high-stakes environments. That said, with Hoffman hitting his stride mid-career at 31 years old, the idea of a return to the starting rotation at least merits consideration.

The Phillies are more familiar than anyone with Hoffman's repertoire and his work ethic. If we want to point to the recent reliever-to-starter pipeline examples, Reynaldo Lopez was a first-time All-Star for the Braves at 30. Hoffman was a much better reliever than Lopez. Odds are Hoffman won't post a 1.99 ERA in a starting gig, but there's no reason to discount the possibility that Hoffman provides at least league-average production as a starter.

This has the smell of a tremendous value for the Phillies. Hoffman is going to get paid big money for a reliever — McDaniel projects three years, $48 million — but that is pennies on the dollar for a quality starter. And, if Hoffman flames out in a starting role, the Phillies can safely transition him to the bullpen where his track record speaks for itself.

Philadelphia fans would probably prefer a more ambitious, outside solution to the fifth starter conundrum, but Hoffman can't possibly fare worse than Walker did last season, plus he already has the trust and familiarity of Philadelphia's coaches. It's a thought. A compelling one, at that.