Many of the impact players on the Philadelphia Phillies' 2025 roster have been acquired via free agency. Most notably, you have Bryce Harper ushering in a new era of Phillies baseball when he signed a then-record $330 million contract over 13 years in February 2019. They then were able to lure away Zack Wheeler from the division rival New York Mets in December of that same year to bolster their rotation.
After MLB's lockout ended in March 2022, they inked deals with Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, both of whom have become key contributors on three straight playoff teams, especially Schwarber. After losing the 2022 World Series, they reached agreement with Trea Turner on an 11-year, $300 million contract.
Harper has since won the NL MVP and three Silver Sluggers, while Wheeler has greatly outperformed the expectations of his initial five-year, $118 million deal to become one of the best starting pitchers in the sport. All five of those players have been selected as All-Stars since signing with the Phillies.
However, there's one free agent signing which the front office hasn't gotten near the return on investment they expected. Phillies fans would immediately recognize that signing to be right-hander Taijuan Walker, but when exactly can they hope to see him off their active roster?
When does Taijuan Walker's brutal Phillies contract finally end?
The simple answer to this question is Walker's four-year, $72 million contract ends after the 2026 season. At the time of the signing, the Phillies were looking for an extra arm in their rotation capable of eating innings in the playoffs after Wheeler and Aaron Nola each flamed out after being used heavily throughout the team's World Series run.
In a free agent class that also included Jameson Taillon and Chris Bassitt as starting pitchers who signed similar deals, the Phillies thought Walker would be their guy. Although even at the time it seemed like a bit of an overpay, Walker was coming off the most solid season of his MLB career when heading into free agency ahead of the 2023 season.
Across 157 1/3 innings in 2022 with the Mets, Walker went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA and a career-high 2.7 WAR. The year prior, he earned his only career All-Star selection. His first year in Philadelphia was an odd one, as he led the team with 15 wins, an impressive feat for a 90-win team that had Wheeler and Nola in its rotation. He also posted an ERA over four at 4.38 and walked a career-high 71 batters. Along with his command issues, he lacked the killer, put-away stuff needed for October baseball. So much so that manager Rob Thomson decided to keep Walker off the Phillies' playoff roster for their entire run to the NLCS, much to the disdain of Walker.
The harder answer is Walker's last day with the Phillies will come at some point during the 2025 season. It's the answer that every Phillies fan is hoping for, and it stems back to his truly awful performance in 2024 and during 2025 Spring Training. There's no sugarcoating it, Walker was very bad in 2024 — like historically bad. Once again, concerns about his ability prevented Walker from being added to the Phillies' playoff roster for the 2024 NLDS.
What is hard about trying to dump Walker's contract is he's owed $18 million in both 2025 and 2026, forcing the Phillies to eat the remaining $36 million for him to not pitch for them. Doing so would be almost unheard of for a contract this large, but the team should do it by at least this summer when Andrew Painter is ready to contribute. Even when the Phillies were experimenting with their fifth starter spot late last season, going from Tyler Phillips, to Kolby Allard and Seth Johnson, Walker was demoted to the long reliever spot in the bullpen.
That's where it appeared that Walker would start the 2025 season, until Ranger Suárez's back injury placed him on the IL for the first part of the season, slotting Walker into the last rotation spot. In a crucial spring for Walker, the veteran struggled once again, with a 7.41 ERA, with a very alarming six home runs allowed and just eight strikeouts in 17 innings. This only further shows his inability to miss bats and limit hard contact and Phillies fans are stuck watching him for at least a little bit longer.
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