After optioning Mick Abel to AAA Lehigh Valley on Independence Day, the Philadelphia Phillies are opting to give Taijuan Walker a spot start on Tuesday at Oracle Park against the San Francisco Giants. Abel has allowed 13 earned runs in his past 13.2 innings pitched and most recently walked five batters against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Walker, 32, has not started a game since May 30 and has found himself as a middle-inning reliever in the bullpen.
Walker will make the start, though he will likely only pitch about four innings before the bullpen is called upon. Seth Johnson, a starting pitcher who has converted to the bullpen for Lehigh Valley, has been called up and is available as well.
Why do the Phillies need a bullpen game?
Collectively, the Phillies’ starting rotation has been in an elite tier this season, leading the league with 533 strikeouts and the third best ERA in the league. Much of this success has come from the elite arms of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez. Jesús Luzardo’s early success cannot be ignored as well, though he has faced his fair share of issues over his past seven starts dating to May 31.
With a starting rotation as strong as that, why do the Phillies need to go a bullpen game at all? The series of events that has led the team to this point begin with Walker himself. Walker, who is in year three of a four-year. $72 million contract, pitched himself out of the rotation in 2024. In 15 starts last season, he threw for an exorbitant 7.18 ERA, averaging under five innings per start.
Walker has made eight starts this season for the Phillies, primarily covering for Suárez as he recovered from his back injury at the beginning of the season. He has been consistent across eight starts and 11 bullpen appearances, pitching a 3.64 ERA overall on the season despite being asked to double-dip on more than one occasion.
“I think it can be very difficult,” Thomson said on Walker going from the rotation to the bullpen multiple times. “I think it depends on the guy. I think it can be very difficult. In Walker’s case, I think he’s handled it very professionally. He’s been a great team guy throughout this whole thing.”
Next is Aaron Nola, who is continuing to recover from both an ankle injury and a stress fracture in his ribs. Nola is projected to return in mid-August. Before his injury, Nola struggled on the mound, pitching a paltry 6.16 ERA in nine starts.
Young Abel got his first taste in the Majors as a result and impressed in his first two outings as he allowed one run in 11.1 innings of work. The hype around Abel would quickly subside, however, as his next four starts resulted in an 8.56 ERA for the 23-year old.
Going into Saturday, the Phillies have eight games over nine days to cover going into the All-Star Break. Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler will pitch Saturday and Sunday against the Reds with Cristopher Sánchez getting his next start as scheduled on Monday at the Giants.
Could the Phillies try to move the rotation up one day apiece and get an additional start out of Jesús Luzardo before the All-Star Break? Sure. But they have clocked in a lot of innings out of their top starters thus far. There is no need to put any undue stress on the starters as they are days away from the midseason respite. With Nola’s injury and Abel’s recent ineffectiveness, the Phillies need a someone to fill the gap.
What about Andrew Painter?
When you have the tenth-best prospect in Major League Baseball, all eyes are on when such a player will make his MLB debut. In fact, Thomson gets asked about Painter a lot. Just about every day.
He and the Phillies have remained steadfast that any debut from Painter would not take place until after the All-Star Break. Painter has yet to produce any “wow” factor in Lehigh Valley as well, pitching for a 4.76 ERA in 10 starts. Most recently, he allowed four runs in five innings of work against Scranton/Wilkes Barre.
What about Joe Ross?
Sitting in the Phillies’ bullpen is another intriguing option, a 32-year old pitcher who has made 87 starts in his Major League career. Joe Ross. When the Phillies signed ross to a one-year contract this offseason, there were thoughts that he could fill be in the mix as a starting pitcher should the Phillies need him.
One of the things that we agreed upon when we signed him was that he was either going to start or relieve, said Thomson on Ross. “We weren’t going to bounce back and forth.”
While Walker has, out of necessity, flipped back-and-forth between starting and relieving, Thomson is determined not to let that happen to Ross. The 32-year old found a lot of success with the Milwaukee Brewers after transitioning to the bullpen in 2024, pitching an elite 1.67 ERA over 15 appearances. Ross has not found the same success thus far with the Phillies, however, yielding a 5.53 ERA in 40.2 innings of work this season.
Re-evaluate after the Break
With the All-Star Break comes a chance for the Phillies to re-evaluate and re-shuffle the rotation. Thomson had recently tinkered with the rotation to break up the three left-handers, a similar shuffle may be in order once the rotation is decided upon.
Many hard decisions could be on the horizon for the Phillies as Nola and Painter will both eventually be expected to join the Phillies’ rotation, albeit for different reasons. Regardless, the reigning National League East champion Phillies have a game-plan to take the team at least to the Break for the time being.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
