Rob Thomson lays out Taijuan Walker plan as Zack Wheeler nears return originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
To begin the season, every five days, Taijuan Walker has toed the slab for the Phillies.
With Zack Wheeler on the shelf to open the year, the club needed its tall right-hander to eat innings, keep the Phillies in games and bridge the gap until the ace’s return.
Walker, though, has not done that consistently. And his biggest issue has come right away — in the first inning — when he has dug the Phillies into early holes at a time when the offense has struggled to score.
Through four starts, Walker owns a league-worst 24.75 ERA in the opening frame, allowing 11 runs on 12 hits, three homers and five walks. Opponents are slashing .500/.567/.917 against him in the first inning, good for a 1.483 OPS.
The next-highest first-inning ERAs belong to Washington’s Jake Irvin and Colorado’s Michael Lorenzen at 15.75.
With the same qualifier, Walker’s mark would be the highest in the National League since Eric Nolte posted a 23.63 first-inning ERA for San Diego in 1991.
This is nothing new for Walker, either. Since signing with the Phillies in 2023, he leads the Majors in first-inning ERA at 8.41 among pitchers with at least 70 starts in that span.
Because of that, the Phillies changed Walker’s pregame routine before his last outing, trying to build more intensity at the end of his bullpen session so he would be in more of a game rhythm by first pitch. It did not solve the issue. Walker still gave up two runs in the first against the Braves.
So with Wheeler nearing a return after his fifth minor league rehab start, the natural question started to loom:
What is the plan for Walker now?
The right-hander had been lined up to start Wednesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but Rob Thomson announced Sunday that the Phillies will use an opener, with Walker still in line to follow.
“No,” Thomson said when asked if Walker would start. “We’re gonna open it.”
Whether entering in the second or third inning helps him is still to be seen. But the Phillies are clearly willing to try something different. As Thomson put it, “It’s just kind of trialing.”
The thought process is simple enough. Walker has to be more aggressive early in outings and avoid falling behind.
“He’s just got to attack, not get behind,” Thomson said.
Walker’s role beyond this week still appears to depend in large part on how Wheeler feels, even once he returns.
Wheeler pitched Sunday for Double-A Reading in Bridgewater, N.J., and allowed four earned runs — including two home runs — on six hits while striking out four in four innings. He threw 77 pitches, short of the 90-pitch goal, and the chilly weather did him no favors.
Thomson said the curveball looked good and thought the outing was fine considering the conditions.
“The curveball was good. Very cold,” Thomson said. “48 strikes, so considering how cold it was, I thought that was pretty good. The velocity was down a little bit, but I think that’s understandable.”
The pitch count plan was adjusted because of pitches inning-by-inning.
“We wanted to get him up to 90, but there were a lot of long innings in between,” Thomson said. “I just decided to get him out.”
That leaves Wheeler’s return date a little less clear than it looked a few days ago. When asked whether Wheeler will rejoin the rotation this coming weekend, Thomson did not commit.
“We’ve got to get him back here and talk to him, figure out where we’re going,” he said.
When Wheeler does come back, though, Thomson did not dismiss Walker still having a place on the Major League staff.
“Yeah,” he said when asked if Walker still has a rotation role. “Well, we think he’s gonna get better.”
That could mean a move into a long relief role, which is where Walker finished last year. But Thomson also did not rule out a six-man rotation, something they considered last September when Aaron Nola was returning from injury and the club signed Walker Buehler.
“If there was a long stretch of games without a day off, sure,” he said.
That possibility would make some sense. It could help manage Andrew Painter’s innings later in the season, ease some stress off Wheeler’s arm and give the Phillies’ left-handed starters an extra day when needed.
The Phillies at least have reason to think creatively about the staff beyond the top five. The rotation has gotten off to a slow start, particularly Jesús Luzardo, whose 7.94 ERA is the worst among qualifiers. Walker, who does not qualify because of innings, is at 9.16.
They have gotten solid outings from Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola and Painter, but the offense has not done the rotation many favors.
If the Phillies were hitting to their standards, the spotlight on the final rotation spot — or a possible sixth — might not feel so magnified. But that is where things stand for a team that opened 8-12.
UPDATE ON REALMUTO AND MILLER
Thomson also provided an update on catcher J.T. Realmuto and top prospect Aidan Miller.
Realmuto, who exited Saturday’s game, was still sore Sunday and only available in an emergency role.
“He’s still a little sore,” Thomson said. “He’s available on emergency tonight.”
Thomson said he did not expect it to be a long-term issue, but the Phillies were still checking on him.
There was more news on Miller. The Phillies’ top-ranked prospect still has not resumed swinging a bat, but he is moving closer.
“He’s now taking ground balls,” Thomson said. “He’s doing everything except for swing. We’re hoping to get him going this week if everything goes well enough.”
An encouraging update on that front.
