Taijuan Walker’s return to Phillies rotation went about as well as fans expected

When the Philadelphia Phillies gave Taijuan Walker a four-year deal worth $72 million ahead of the 2023 campaign, they expected him to be a lynchpin in the middle of their rotation. Year one of the deal was a failure, as Walker didn't even appear in a single postseason game following an underwhelming regular season. Year two has been substantially worse.

Walker missed the first month of the season due to injury and never quite kicked it into gear, posting a 6.50 ERA in 14 starts before Rob Thomson finally bit the bullet and moved him to the bullpen.

Walker would remain there for three appearances, pitching poorly in two of the three. Despite that, Thomson threw him back into the rotation to start Thursday's series opener against the New York Mets, Walker's former team. It's safe to say that the decision went about as well as Phillies fans expected.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insider’s podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB off-season.

Taijuan Walker gets predictably shelled in return to rotation

Walker allowed eight runs, all earned, in just 3.1 innings of work. He allowed six hits, walked three, and only struck out two while surrendering four home runs. Walker has now surrendered a mind-boggling 24 home runs in just 83 innings of work.

On paper, inserting Walker back into the rotation made no sense. He struggled mightily as a starter all season before the move to the bullpen, struggled in relief, and then was brought back against one of the hottest teams in baseball. What did the Phillies really think was going to happen?

In Thomson's defense, though, the decision to start Walker over anyone else might've actually made the most sense. Walker had pitched well against these Mets just five days prior, delivering three key shutout innings in relief, and also, who else was he going to turn to?

Kolby Allard just got shelled by the Mets in the game Walker appeared in. Seth Johnson, the man who took the ball six days prior, was sent back down to Triple-A after getting hammered in his MLB debut. Tyler Phillips was sent down after getting rocked the turn before. The Phillies simply don't have a fifth starter, especially with Spencer Turnbull out, which fans can directly blame Dave Dombrowski for.

Fortunately for the Phillies, postseason rotations are almost always trimmed down to three or four individuals, rendering Walker useless. He might make the postseason roster to soak up innings in games that are out of hand, but he won't be starting at all barring any injury.

Despite all of the issues from Walker and the other starters taking the ball in the No. 5 spot of the rotation, the Phillies are tied for third in the majors in starting pitching ERA. That shows how dominant the other four starters are, putting them in good shape to dominate in October.

What will happen with Walker after this season remains to be seen, but his spot in the rotation is only set to come up one more time in the regular season, giving Phillies fans reason to exhale a little bit. Still, this start was just the latest example of Walker proving he does not belong in the rotation at all.