Many Philadelphia Phillies fans sure felt it was coming, but the inevitable finally occurred. According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson announced during Sunday’s TV broadcast that starter Ranger Suárez will begin the year on the injured list after a throwing session on Sunday. Suárez had been dealing with a back injury this spring, which is a cause for concern given his back issues dating back to last season. The Phillies will now just have to hope and pray that he can get back sooner than expected.
That is because even with such news, that likely wasn’t the worst possible update for Phillies fans. In a corresponding move, Taijuan Walker will now be the No. 5 starter entering the season for Philadelphia and will make his first start in the Phillies’ sixth game of the season.
Ranger Suárez going on IL, Taijuan Walker moving to rotation is going to give Phillies fans early-season nightmares
Of course that announcement, without question, will cause some nightmares among Phillies’ nation. After all, Walker is coming off his worst-ever MLB season in 2024 where he struggled to a 3-7 record with an abysmal 7.10 ERA and 1.72 WHIP, giving up a whopping 66 earned runs including 24 home runs in just 83 2/3 innings pitched over 19 games played.
However, the Phillies didn’t give up on the 32-year-old right-hander, as they worked with him on a pitching program during the offseason with hopes to help him rediscover his prior dominant form.
Walker entered training camp this year looking good and confident with the Phillies. Unfortunately, it did not end up translating into much success as he pretty much picked up from where he left off from last season. In four spring starts, Walker posted a 1-1 record with a gaudy 6.92 ERA and 1.69 WHIP, while serving up 10 earned runs, including six home runs, along with three walks and six strikeouts in just 13 innings pitched. He started off decent, but things got worse as spring training progressed, including his six-run shellacking in just less than four innings of work in his final tune up against the New York Yankees before the start of the regular season.
For the time being, at least, Walker will be getting plenty of rest to gear up for his eventual 2025 season debut. With Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez leading the way, it should take most of the pressure off of Walker so that he can hopefully just focus on his game and put up valuable innings for the Phillies. Nevertheless, if last year and this past spring are any indication of what is in store for the veteran for his upcoming 2025 campaign, it could be a long, long year ahead for Walker, the Phillies, and their faithful.