PHILADELPHIA -- Nothing Taijuan Walker tries is working.
He tried something new before Friday night’s start against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park because he had a 27.00 ERA in the first inning, and he couldn’t bury the Phils’ offense again. So, he changed his pre-start routine. He picked up the intensity toward the end of his warmup pitches in the bullpen, then decreased the waiting time between his final bullpen toss and his first pitch on the mound.
But Walker loaded the bases with no outs and allowed two runs in the first inning in a 9-0 loss to drop the Phillies to 8-11.
Walker allowed seven runs in four innings, hearing boos throughout the night. He has a 9.16 ERA in his first four starts, which is the highest ERA by a Phillies starter to begin the season in the rotation since Paul Byrd’s 10.19 ERA in his first four starts from April 5-27, 2000.
So, now what?
The Phillies need a fifth starter on Wednesday night against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, but can they really afford to start Walker again? He has put them in a serious hole in every start.
Here are some options:
1. They start Walker one more time and hope he keeps them in the game. It’s a considerable risk as the team struggles to find its footing. Even a two-run deficit feels insurmountable as the Phillies’ offense struggles.
2. The Phillies use an opener and bring Walker in for the second or third inning. There are two schools of thought here. One, Walker’s first inning is his first inning, whether it’s the first inning of the game or the second or third inning of the game. In other words, would an opener really solve his first-inning woes? Some are skeptical. Two, by using an opener, Walker can start the game against hitters lower in the lineup (i.e., weaker hitters).
3. The Phillies skip Walker and choose one of their two remaining starters on the 40-man roster: Triple-A Lehigh Valley right-handers Jean Cabrera (0-1, 8.03 ERA) or Alan Rangel (2-1, 1.66 ERA).
4. Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is scheduled to make his fifth rehab start on Sunday with Double-A Reading. They could ask Wheeler to skip the start and make his season debut in Chicago instead. If the Phillies prefer to keep Wheeler on schedule -- the last thing they want to do is mess with their ace -- he is expected to rejoin the Phillies’ rotation next weekend in Atlanta.
Walker is entering the final year of a four-year, $72 million contract. He is making $18 million this year.
He is 24-24 with a 5.08 ERA in 88 appearances (71 starts) with the Phils.
It hasn’t been what the Phillies expected, but they still might need Walker. The fact that the Phillies’ only two options on the 40-man roster to replace him (besides Wheeler) are Cabrera and Rangel speaks to the organization’s lack of starting pitching depth.
It is something the Phils have tried to address the past few months, but have not found.
For that reason, Walker is likely to move to the bullpen as a long man, if he pitches on Wednesday or not.