Weston Wilson
As one of the surprising standouts, Weston Wilson appeared to be well on his way to securing a permanent role on the Phillies roster at one point in time last season. After all, he became the ninth player in Phillies history to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat against the Washington Nationals on Aug. 15. Not only that, he batted a stellar .362 with a 1.040 OPS, along with nine runs scored, three doubles, three home runs and seven RBI in his first 19 games with the Phillies last year.
However, Wilson struggled down the stretch, as he posted just a .195 average and .605 OPS, with just four runs scored, four doubles, zero home runs and three RBI in his final 21 games with Philadelphia. Consequently, he ended up seeing only limited action during the Phillies' postseason run, where he went hitless in three at-bats.
Wilson will need to show more consistency in his production in order for him to win a job for the 2025 season with the Phillies. But with his ability to play almost any position other than catcher, as he solidly demonstrated last year, he may have the upper hand in landing a potential bench utility role going forward.
Taijuan Walker
Finally, we have the disappointing Taijuan Walker as a part of this list. As an established MLB veteran with over 12 years of experience and with an annual salary of $18 million, one wouldn’t have expected such an individual needing to prove themselves ahead of the 2025 season to secure a roster spot.
But because Walker is coming off the worst-ever season in his MLB career, it is an obstacle that he will need to face prior to the start of the upcoming regular season. In an injury-plagued 2024 campaign, Walker struggled immensely with his control and command, leading to an unsettling 3-7 record with a 7.10 ERA and 1.72 WHIP while giving up a whopping 66 earned runs, including 24 home runs on 107 hits in just 83 2/3 innings of work. Whether he pitched in the capacity of a starter or reliever, he was met with the same result.
Walker vowed to work with the Phillies to get his game back on track this offseason, but whether or not he will be successful in doing so will be another story. One thing is for sure: the Phillies’ acquisition of Luzardo this offseason all but rules out Walker’s chances of returning to the rotation this upcoming year.
That leaves him with just a relief role to challenge for, but with a career 4.56 ERA and 1.61 WHIP coming out of the bullpen, despite a small sample size, things are not looking optimistic for the 32-year-old veteran. As a result, Walker will need a huge training camp to reinstil confidence in his team and teammates if he wants to further his career with the Phillies.