Early on in this baseball season the Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the worst bullpens in the majors. The Phillies lost some key pieces to last season’s bullpen, with the loss of Jeff Hoffman. Hoffman right now is apart of the Toronto Blue Jays, and is one of the best closers in the league this season. The Phillies also lost Siranthony Dominquez to the Baltimore Orioles. Dominquez is doing better than he had ever done as a Phillie. So how can the Phillies turn it around in their bullpen? With Ranger Suarez coming off of the injury list, it begs the question, what to do with Taijuan Walker?
Taijuan Walker has been an up and down pitcher for the Phillies since his arrival. But This season as fans were begging the Phillies front office to trade Walker for anything, just to free up the money. Taujuan has begun this season with a 1-3 record, but his era is the stat that jumps out at you about his performance this season. Taijuan’s ERA this season so far is 2.53 in 5 starts. This is an amazing number to have in your fifth starter in your pitching rotation, but for Walker this is the best he has played in Phillie pinstripes. So the question remains how to handle the pitching rotation with Ranger coming off the injured list. Well, you could move to an unprecedented six man pitching rotation. Or, you could move Walker to the bullpen and possibly strengthen the very weak bullpen with a strong long man. With the discussion of trading Walker before will moving him to the bullpen lower his trade value? Or is moving Walker to the bullpen a sign that your not willing to trade Walker at all. The former general manager of the Phillies, Rueban Amaro Jr. once said, “you can never have enough pitching if your pursuing a World Championship.”
I believe that for the Phillies it would be best to keep Walker in the rotation and raise his trade value, because the Phillies are already an aging team. Not to mention that the minor league system is not flush with talent. The Phillies also have to do what is best in the long-game, because there is a strong possibility that another starting pitcher could be joining the Phillies later in the season, in Andrew Painter.
