Philadelphia Phillies Won't Commit to Struggling Veteran Being Their Fifth Starter

It sounds like there will be an open competition in Spring Training before the Philadelphia Phillies decide who their fifth starter is going to be next year.

Jun 15, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker (99) throws third inning pitch against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are expected to have a busy offseason.

That comes directly one year after they were stagnant last winter, focusing on re-signing Aaron Nola and giving Zack Wheeler an extension before handing super utility man Whit Merrifield a contract that was really their lone headlining addition.

After what Dave Dombrowski has seen the past two years, he likely won't stand pat this time around.

The Phillies have already been featured in the rumor mill, most notably by putting Alec Bohm on the trade block which has already generated interest from at least one team around the league.

This only created more speculation about if the big-spending organization would be willing to make a run at Alex Bregman on the open market if they were to move their All-Star third baseman.

Then, there is also the fact that Juan Soto is still available.

Philadelphia will reportedly set up a meeting with the phenom outfielder, understanding that his addition would solve a lot of their problems.

But in a surprising twist, it's been the starting pitching staff that seems to be the focal point of the front office in the early parts of the offseason, with them rumored to be igniting trade discussions to acquire Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox after they didn't pull that off ahead of this past deadline.

When looking at areas on this roster that need to be improved, the rotation is certainly last on the list.

Wheeler and Nola still are the dominant one-two punch they've been during their tenure together, and the emergence of Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez has created one of the best four-headed monsters in all of baseball.

So why would the Phillies be so focused on bringing in another starter?

That's because the Taijuan Walker dilemma still hangs over their heads.

This is a tricky situation to navigate since he is coming off the worst performance of his career when he finished the 2024 campaign with an inflated 7.10 ERA and 57 ERA+ that is a staggering 43 points below the league average.

Fans would love for the team to just move on from the veteran right-hander, but with $36 million remaining on his contract for the next two seasons, that's easier said than done.

Walker was moved into the bullpen during the latter part of the year before returning to the rotation when the other options Philadelphia tried couldn't perform much better.

The Phillies are expected to give him an opportunity to prove he should be a starter for them next season, but they aren't willing to commit to anything beyond giving him a chance.

"We've got four solid starting pitchers that we like. I really don't have a fifth starter right now. [Andrew] Painter will be that eventually. I hope Taijuan Walker will be better. But we're not going to anoint him on that," Dombrowski said per Matt Gelb of The Athletic.

That's pretty telling.

The open competition aspect only had more fuel added to that fire when Philadelphia added three pitchers to their 40-man roster that protected them from the Rule 5 Draft pool.

Among that trio is one of their top prospects, Mick Abel.

Dombrowski stated they "think Abel can jump at any time," although his performance at Triple-A last year was beyond concerning.

Other options are Tyler Phillips and Seth Johnson, who both got looks at one point this past season, but after a strong showing early, Phillips massively regressed while Johnson didn't look ready.

Andrew Painter is who everyone, fans and the franchise, are hoping can be the guy.

The superstar pitching prospect just made his return to the mound for the first time in two years at the Arizona Fall League, taking home the top pitcher award.

He will certainly make his debut at some point in 2025, but no matter how good he might look, he'll be on an innings limit and likely won't be on the Opening Day roster.

All of this highlights why the Phillies are in the market for a starting pitcher.

It will be interesting to see how Dombrowski and his front office go about alleviating those concerns regarding the fifth spot in their rotation, but one thing is for certain, they are not ready to just hand it to Walker after his brutal performance last season.