Taijuan Walker given ‘very detailed program’ by Phillies to try to get back on track in 2025

The Philadelphia Phillies are hopeful that Taijuan Walker can play a role for them in 2025, and have set him up with a plan to try to put him in position to do so. But there were no guarantees made by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in his year-end press conference when asked about the much-maligned righty.

“He did not have a good year as we all know, so no need to to pound that into it,” Dombrowski continued.

“We have sat down with Taijuan,” Dombrowski said. “Before he left, he was given a very detailed program from a conditioning and throwing perspective. Not that he’s in bad condition, but to get him ready to try to be the pitcher that he was in the past.”

Walker spent more than six weeks on the injured list with right finger inflammation this summer, a period during which he worked aggressively with weighted balls to try to improve his strength. Dombrowski said he will do that and more as part of his program this winter.

The Phillies, in Dombrowski’s estimation, have as good of a top four in their starting rotation as any team in baseball with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez. The No. 5 spot was a trainwreck of the final two months of the season, though. As much as there is optimism about top prospect Andrew Painter playing a role in 2025, the Phillies will have to monitor his innings as he returns from Tommy John surgery. Even in a best-case scenario where Painter wins NL Rookie of the Year, he’s probably not going to be the wire-to-wire fifth starter.

While Walker struggled early in games in 2023, he pitched to a 4.38 ERA across 172 2/3 innings in his first season with the Phillies. Anything resembling that version of Walker for even a portion of 2025 would be a massive success at this stage.

The Phillies, though, didn’t guarantee the 32-year-old much of anything heading into the offseason.

“He is in a position where I’m convinced he will work hard on that to get it done,” Dombrowski added. “I would think he’ll come to Spring Training with us next year, but he’s not guaranteed a starting spot. I don’t think I can just say ‘Hey, you’re our fifth starter.’ I think he would come to camp and be in a battle to try to win a spot in the rotation.”

Coming off of a season where he posted a 7.10 ERA across 83 2/3 innings, a chance to compete for a spot on a Major League roster is more than anyone could ask for. The fact that he has two remaining seasons on a four-year/$72 million deal is almost certainly why Walker will even get that opportunity with the Phillies.

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