The Philadelphia Phillies were prepared to have one of their key rotation arms back for the upcoming weekend series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker was slated to pitch on Tuesday for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs in his final rehab start prior to rejoining the team.
If all went as planned, his return would have come as soon as Sunday’s finale against the Diamondbacks.
Taijuan Walker's return to Phillies pushed back after weather wreaks havoc on rehab plans
However, the weather gods sure didn’t end up cooperating as Walker’s rehab start was rained out, per Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. As a result, he still needed to get in one more rehab start before coming off the IL. The Phillies found him the opportunity on Wednesday. They ended up moving Walker back down to the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils for the appearance.
RHP Taijuan Walker’s rehab assignment was transferred to Reading (AA).
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 7, 2024
As much as they wanted him to see more MLB-ready bats in Triple-A to ensure that he was up to speed, it clearly showed that the Phillies were more desperate to get Walker back as soon as possible. On the bright side, in the start with the Fightin Phils, he went five strong innings, giving up two hits and one run with three strikeouts over 60 pitches. With that final rehab outing, Walker is now in line to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation against the Miami Marlins next Tuesday.
His return couldn’t have come soon enough as the Phillies had been sputtering ever since the All-Star break. The Phillies will look to Walker to help provide the much-needed boost to their rotation going forward, despite having gone 3-3 with a 5.60 ERA and 1.49 WHIP this season.
They are banking on the fact that he can recapture his winning form from 2023 in which he led all Phillies’ starters in wins with 15, to go along with a decent 4.38 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 172 2/3 innings pitched. Otherwise, if he fails to do so, the Phillies will only be left with more question marks as they head into the final few weeks of the 2024 season with a whole lot of uncertainty.