Phillies release pitcher Taijuan Walker with $15.3 million left on his contract
Walker, who is in the final year of his four-year, $72 million deal, has a 9.13 ERA this season.
CHICAGO — The Phillies have released pitcher Taijuan Walker, the team announced Thursday.
Walker, in the final year of his four-year, $72 million deal, had struggled to a 9.13 ERA this season. The Phillies tried several adjustments, including tweaking his pregame routine and using an opener for Walker in Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to the Cubs.
In the Phillies’ eighth consecutive loss, Walker allowed four earned runs in four innings. Zack Wheeler is scheduled to return to the rotation and make his season debut on Saturday.
» READ MORE: Phillies’ eighth straight loss marks their longest streak since 2018: ‘Not much is going right for us’
Despite his struggles, Walker remained in the rotation until now because of the Phillies’ lack of starting pitching depth. Alan Rangel allowed one earned run over three innings on Wednesday, and was optioned back to triple A to continue starting. Nolan Hoffman was recalled.
“The way we looked at it is, we’re in a position where we have Rangel, who pitched very well for us, and we have some other guys in our minor league system,” said president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. “But rather than put [Walker] in the bullpen, which has really not been a great fit for him overall, we just figured we would take an opportunity to put somebody else in the pen.”
The Phillies owe the 33-year-old Walker $15.3 million this year, minus a prorated portion of the league minimum if another team signs him. They are also paying current San Diego Padre Nick Castellanos, who had $20 million left on his contract when the Phillies released him in February.
In Trea Turner and Justin Crawford, the Phillies have two of baseball's fastest players at the top and bottom of their batting order. It's a baserunning coach's dream. Paco Figueroa sat down with "Phillies Extra" to discuss his philosophy on baserunning and how the Phillies might be able to leverage the elite speed of Turner and Crawford to boost an offense that has struggled to score runs early in the season. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber | Brad Keller | J.T.Realmuto | Orion Kerkering