Phillies admit what went wrong, reveal plans to fix Taijuan Walker this offseason

It certainly hasn't turned out to be the season that either the Philadelphia Phillies or Taijuan Walker had likely envisioned back when training camp got started in February. As fans who were forced to sit and watch from the outside, we finally have some closure, with the 32-year-old moving to the bullpen for the rest of the season.

Even if it's not the end result that some had been pining for, it's something. It was really the only move the Phillies had. They weren't going to cut him loose with almost $40 million still owed to the veteran.

So what exactly went wrong with the Walker rotation fiasco? Where did it go sideways?

The Phillies dragged their feet on finally making this call. It got to the point where they were left with no other alternative, based on Walker's four starts since coming off the IL. He pitched to a 9.17 ERA and 2.09 WHIP with 10 strikeouts and eight walks in his 17 2/3 innings.

Phillies admit what went wrong, reveal plans to fix Taijuan Walker this offseason

The right-hander's velocity has been a source of contention all season, since all the way back in spring training and through his first rehab stint in April. The velocity on his four-seamer, sinker and splitter has dropped steadily over the past three seasons. In his final start against the Astros, his four-seamer was down to 91.5 mph, while his sinker sat 90.6 mph. He was tossing up meatballs for Houston hitters.

Manager Rob Thomson addressed the problems Walker has been having with his velocity this season when the team announced the move to the bullpen on Thursday. They apparently had a program in place that the struggling pitcher had been working through in an attempt to rehabilitate his velocity, according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.

“I feel for him because he's put so much time and effort into this thing,” Thomson said, per Zolecki. “He's worked extremely hard. Long toss, weighted balls, light balls -- all kinds of stuff. He's not the same guy that he was. And, hopefully, with work over the offseason and the rest of the season, we get that velocity back and that stuff back."

Phillies' program for Walker might have worked if they had given it more time

But in the same breath and in a rather surprising admittance, Thomson also said that they cut the program off early. It's a curious decision, to say the least.

“The program that he was on to try and gain velocity, we didn't have enough time," Thomson said, per Zolecki. "Like, that program's a long program, and we sort of cut the program off early. I think if he has a full offseason of that program, we got a better chance of seeing some improvement.”

So there it is. The Phillies, at this point, aren't completely giving up on Walker. They're going to be trying to save him and his embarrassing contract in the offseason.

Walker himself helped shed some light on the process he was undergoing and what the future holds for him over the winter, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman.

"We did it so quickly, we did it for a month," Walker said about the in-season program, per Seidman. "I thought it helped my splitter tick up a little bit so that was a plus, but I think having a full offseason of doing it should help. Obviously, we're still trying to focus on this year but the plan for the offseason is to do the weighted ball program and come in ready for camp."

So, if Walker can put work through a full program before spring training rolls around next year, the Phillies are obviously hoping that they'll have a usable fifth starter. At least to begin the season. No. 2 prospect Andrew Painter is waiting in the wings and the Phillies should only be too happy to give the phenom the job as soon as he's ready to go.