Taijuan Walker
What a season Taijuan Walker has had — and not in a good way.
As if last postseason's exclusion wasn't enough drama, he has created more glaring questions this season. After a shaky end to 2023, Walker was on the playoff roster last year but famously collected dust in the bullpen without getting a sniff of action. The Phillies essentially wasted a roster spot on the 32-year-old veteran.
This season has been a disaster for Walker. Around a couple of stints on the IL, the right-hander has pitched to a 6.91 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. He hasn't been known as a big strikeout pitcher for the last couple of seasons, and this year has been even worse. He's sporting a 6.26 K/9, his lowest since 2018 and close to a career-worst.
He was never going to get a start in the postseason, and that was before his most recent disaster against the New York Mets. As bad as his starts have gone, he hasn't been much better as a reliever. Walker has faced 35 batters and given up 10 hits, with opponents hitting .303 with an .888 OPS against him.
The kind of contact he has been giving up is concerning. His FIP is 6.94, and his 7.01 xERA is higher than his ERA. He's running a career-high 46.5 percent hard-hit rate and 13.8 percent barrel rate, which bit him against the Mets, who launched four home runs off the right-hander.
With a 15.4 percent strikeout rate (5.7 percent out of the bullpen) and a 6.6 percent swinging strike rate this season, Walker isn't going to be an option out of the bullpen if Rob Thomson wants someone to get punchouts in a big postseason moment.
Right now, there's no way the Phillies can carry Walker on the postseason roster. It might be time to say goodbye until the spring.