It's been a bit of a bumpy ride so far this season for the Philadelphia Phillies, but after a win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night, they still find themselves second in the NL East at a respectable 17-13. That record is made even more impressive by the fact that Philly's done it without one of their best arms, as lefty Ranger Suarez has yet to pitch this year due to a back issue that popped up in spring training.
But Suarez has been slowly but surely building up in the Minors over the last few weeks, and now he's set to make his season debut on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It's tough to overstate the impact his presence can have: He's pitched to a 3.27 ERA since becoming a starter back in 2021, including a 3.46 mark last season. Getting him back into the fold will be a huge boost to Philly's chances of making a run at a division title — especially when you consider whose place he'll be taking in the rotation.
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 season.
Ranger Suarez's return should spell the end of the Taijuan Walker Experience
Okay, so that's a little bit unfair. Walker has been better than anyone could've expected since being thrust back into the rotation due to Suarez's injury, with a 2.78 ERA across five starts. For a guy that most fans wanted run out of town over the winter, that's some pretty sweet redemption.
But there's plenty of reason to believe that regression is coming. We all saw just how awful Walker was last season, for starters, and his xERA (3.94) and FIP (4.05) numbers suggest that he's gotten a bit lucky over this recent stretch. The Phillies should treat Walker's start to this season as found money and get out of dodge while they still can.
Of course, it's always possible that the team could opt to move to a six-man rotation, keeping Walker starting while welcoming Suarez back into the fold. But that has consequences of its own, as Thomson is well aware.
“It takes one of your guys out of the bullpen,” Thomson told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “And you have to have some flexibility with your bullpen arms. … Those are things that we’re always talking about — all the things that can influence the decision on whether to go to a six-man rotation.”
Philly's bullpen is thin enough as it is right now, and sacrificing a spot for Walker feels ill-advised even if you believed in his production moving forward. But the Phillies have seen this movie before; they know who Walker is at this point, and that's not a guy who's worth contorting your entire pitching strategy around. Shift Walker into a multi-inning relief role, or flip him for assets; anything but tempting fate by buying into his recent hot streak.