May 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) reacts after being removed from the game by manager Rob Thomson (59) against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Before a seven-run Phillies outburst in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday — which featured one of the signature moments of the 2025 MLB season thus far — Taijuan Walker faced his first major test since being converted to a full-time reliever earlier this month.
Unfortunately for him, it went so poorly that he won't have to wait to see red ink on his paper when the teacher hands it back to know he failed.
Zack Wheeler, uncharacteristically, was limited to only five innings Friday against the New York Mets. Characteristically, Wheeler allowed zero runs. So when Walker came on in the top of the sixth inning to relieve Wheeler, he had a 2-0 lead to work with.
But Walker, a former Met, was greeted with back-to-back home runs by Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil, two of his ex-teammates:
429 feet to dead center 😤 pic.twitter.com/YcDGoYldrp
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 21, 2025
JEFF GOES BACK-TO-BACK! pic.twitter.com/bN2dFRcqAV
Walker ultimately recorded only one out, allowing three total hits, two of which were the home runs. Walker walked off the mound to loud boos at Citizens Bank Park, with Tanner Banks coming in and pitching 1 2/3 no-hit innings of relief in a game that the Phillies wound up winning 10-2 to take control of the NL East.
So Walker didn't end up being the story Friday night, but it was still worth revisiting his struggles Saturday afternoon considering he's likely going to be used in a similar situation in the near future. What, in manager Rob Thomson's opinion, didn't work for Walker last night?
"Just execution," Thomson said. "Lotta pitches in the middle of the plate."
But there weren't any red flags in terms of velocity that Thomson saw?
"No, he was 94 mph [on his fastball]," Thomson said. "Some days, you're gonna have those."
So what does Thomson see as Walker's role currently?
"Right now, one inning. I still trust him in that sixth, seventh-inning spot," Thomson said. "Really, he hasn't thrown the ball that bad at all. He had a rough night last night, but he's been pretty good."
Entering last night, Walker had a 3.27 ERA across his first seven relief appearances — which included a scoreless three-inning save in Tampa on May 7 — so there's definitely some truth in what Thomson is saying. However, he now has a 4.76 ERA out of the bullpen this year. Such is the life of a reliever, as one bad outing can sink your numbers for quite some time.
But Walker isn't going anywhere.
The Phillies have five starters that they feel good about right now with Wheeler, Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Mick Abel. Not to mention, Andrew Painter is expected to make his MLB debut at some point this summer, and Aaron Nola (stress fracture in right ribcage) played catch in the batting cage today and is likely to return at some point after the All-Star Break. There isn't a path for Walker to get back into the starting rotation any time soon.
With that said, Walker is in the third season of a four-year/$72 million deal. The Phillies have refused to waive the white flag on Walker, and considering he was pretty effective out of the starting rotation this season — 3.62 ERA in eight starts — they're unlikely to call him a sunk cost this summer and give up the possibility of having him as depth next season.
So while Friday was certainly a blip on the radar, the Phillies will continue to show faith in Walker as a one-inning relief option. In fact, it might not take Walker long to get a chance at redemption, as Thomson revealed Saturday that the 32-year-old righty has bounced back well enough physically that he's ready, in theory, to be used on back-to-back days.
