Taijuan Walker
Nobody really saw it coming, probably not even Taijuan Walker himself, but 2024 has turned into a complete nightmare for the 32-year-old veteran right-hander. After posting a career-high in wins with 15 last season, which impressively also led the entire Phillies’ team, almost everything that could have gone wrong for him this year ended up doing so.
First and foremost, Walker was hampered by injury woes throughout 2024, with ailments that included a shoulder impingement coming out of spring training, a toe contusion after getting hit in the foot by a comebacker, and a blister on his index finger.
When he was actually healthy, he turned out to be a complete mess on the mound, setting records along the way for all the wrong reasons. For the season, Walker posted a miserable 3-7 record with an ugly 7.10 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, giving up a whopping 66 earned runs, including 24 home runs, along with 37 walks and 58 strikeouts in just 83 2/3 innings pitched over 19 games.
The Phillies attempted to work with Walker in rediscovering his effective splitter during his injury rehab, but to no avail. They even tried relegating him to the bullpen to see if it could help turn things around for him in a different environment. However, his struggles remained as he yielded multiple runs in three of his four relief appearances.
At this rate, it makes one wonder if more work with him during the offseason would even help fix what is ailing him. Unless Walker shows some drastic progress in his throwing program in the coming weeks, his tenure with the Phillies may not last beyond the conclusion of the playoffs, despite his massive contract, which still has $36 million owed.