Phillies Taijuan Walker decision highlights major Dave Dombrowski roster flaw

The Philadelphia Phillies have one of, if not the best rotations in the majors. There's a good chance that Zack Wheeler will be an NL Cy Young finalist. Aaron Nola is as consistent of a workhorse as there is in the majors. Ranger Suarez is as underrated of a starting pitcher as there is in the game and he always steps his game up in October. Even Cristopher Sanchez has emerged and is probably the best No. 4 starter in the game.

Philadelphia's issue is their fifth starter spot. That is why, despite having such an elite top four, they only rank fifth in the majors in starting pitching ERA. This doesn't matter much in the postseason when teams shrink their rotations, but it absolutely does matter in the regular season. The Phillies love their chances to win four out of every five games, but the fifth starter spot has been an issue all season long.

The job was supposed to belong to Taijuan Walker, but he has had an extremely underwhelming tenure in Philadelphia thus far, posting a 4.98 ERA in the first two years of the four-year deal he signed ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Walker's struggles led to the team moving him to the bullpen delighting Phillies fans everywhere. That experiment lasted just a couple of weeks, though, as manager Rob Thomson announced that the right-hander will start Thursday's series opener against the New York Mets according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

This decision to start Walker highlights one glaring issue in their organization.

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Decision to start Taijuan Walker proves Dave Dombrowski did not add enough starting pitching depth

As a starter this season, Walker had been nothing short of abysmal, posting a 6.50 ERA in 14 starts and 70 innings of work. The team had gone 4-10 when he had taken the ball, and he had completed five innings only eight times in his 14 starts including once in his last five before the transition to the bullpen.

In the bullpen, things weren't exactly great either. Walker allowed two runs in three innings of work in his first appearance and followed that up by allowing another pair of runs in two innings just four days later.

The decision to start Walker might've been because the right-hander threw three innings of shutout ball his last time out against these same Mets, but is that really enough?

This can be seen as the right move to make in large part because there's nobody else to turn to. In an ideal world, Spencer Turnbull would start, but he has been on the IL since late June and isn't expected back until the very end of the regular season at the earliest. Other than Turnbull, the options are really lacking.

The first option, Tyler Phillips, allowed six runs while only recording two outs against the light-hitting Toronto Blue Jays. Seth Johnson was their next choice, and he allowed nine runs in just 2.1 innings of work against the even lighter-hitting Miami Marlins. The Phillies then turned to Kolby Allard, who also struggled, allowing four runs (three earned) in three innings against the Mets. Allard was the best of the bunch, but he wasn't impressive at all. Walker wound up relieving Allard on Saturday and threw his three scoreless innings.

Walker is getting this start because there's really nobody else to take the ball, and that's Dombrowski's fault. Having Turnbull or even Andrew Painter healthy might've come in handy, but Turnbull didn't arrive with high expectations at all, and Painter was expected to be sidelined for the year with injury.

The Phillies have an awesome rotation, but depth has always been a clear weakness. This Walker decision only emphasizes that. Hopefully, Dombrowski can find a way to add more quality depth in 2025, because while their core four have stayed mostly healthy this season, a major injury or two could have proven to be a major problem.