Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker has spent the majority of his career as a starter. After 12 seasons in the big leagues, his responsibilities have gradually changed. While he did make 15 starts last year, Walker was also utilized as a reliever. Most projected Opening Day rosters have Walker in the Phillies bullpen in 2025.
The Phillies have a starting rotation of Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Zack Wheeler. With this talented pool of arms, there is no room for Walker as a starter. Even though he is currently projected to come out of the pen, his job could be in jeopardy thanks to the rise of a recent acquisition.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray's work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.
Nabil Crismatt coming for Taijuan Walker's job
A season ago, Taijuan Walker went 3-7 with a 7.10 ERA across 83.2 innings of work. His time on the mound was split between 15 starts and four relief appearances. It is safe to say that these numbers are less than ideal.
Before the regular season even begins, it appears that manager Rob Thomson is looking for options to replace Walker. The Phillies will get spring training games underway on Saturday and the man who will take the ball in their opener could become Walker's biggest competitor for the next few weeks.
Philadelphia signed pitcher Nabil Crismatt to a minor league deal back in December. He has five big league seasons under his belt where he has a career 3.71 ERA. During his time in the majors, Crismatt has served primarily as a relief pitcher but has over 100 career starts in the minors.
We know that the rotation for the Phillies is set barring injury but if Crismatt is able to turn some heads this spring and prove that he can get big-league hitters out, he very well could earn a spot on the Opening Day roster. If he is able to do this, Crismatt will most likely be taking Walker's spot.