Philadelphia Phillies Starter Has Become Desirable Again After Strong Spring

A bounce back showing from the Philadelphia Phillies starter has made him desirable once again.

Mar 8, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning during spring training at BayCare Ballpark. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

With the start of the regular season almost here for the Philadelphia Phillies, the team is heading into the upcoming campaign with high hopes. 

It was a strong winter for the Phillies this offseason.

Even though the team didn’t make a major splash, they had a couple of quality additions both in free agency and via trade. 

After the 2024 campaign, one of the glaring needs for the team was to upgrade the back-end of the starting rotation. They were able to accomplish that in a significant way with the addition of Jesus Luzardo. 

Due to the struggles of former All-Star Taijuan Walker, the team made the right decision to not rely on him as a rotation member to start the 2025 season. 

The right-hander was one of the worst pitchers in baseball last year, and with a decrease in velocity, there wasn’t much reason to think things would improve. 

However, things have shockingly improved for the veteran right-hander this spring.

All of a sudden, he looks like he could be a positive contributor for a team, either in Philadelphia or elsewhere. 

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com recently spoke about Walker being the most impressive member of the team so far this spring. 

“Walker almost certainly has locked up a spot in the Phillies’ bullpen, but he could return to the rotation if there is a need. Or he suddenly becomes a plausible trade candidate.”

The 32-year-old bouncing back is excellent news since there is never being such a thing as having too much pitching. 

While this development is surprising, it should also be pointed out that this is just spring training and results from this period should be taken with a grain of salt. 

Still, having Walker return to form can only be a good thing for the Phillies.

To start the campaign, the former All-Star will most likely be in the bullpen. However, the possibility of using him as a trade piece all of a sudden could be on the table. 

With two years left on his contract, Walker’s deal looked untradeable after last year, but that might change following this performance in spring training. 

There are plenty of teams that have a need for starting pitching, so the veteran right-hander could all of a sudden become an option.

While he will likely have to prove himself some more in the regular season, he is at least trending in the right direction. 

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