Phillies need to end their Taijuan Walker experience amid first-inning problems

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Phillies need to end their Taijuan Walker experience amid first-inning problems originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Philadelphia Phillies made the big decision to sign Taijaun Walker to a four-year, $72 million deal a few years ago in December of 2022.

That deal was instantly not a success, and in the years since, it's only gotten worse. Last season, he wasn't even in the starting rotation for much of the year. But this year, things are worse than ever.

As USA Today's Bob Nightengale points out, Walker's first-inning problems, with a brutal 8.40 ERA in first innings with the Phillies, it's finally time to end Walker's tenure in Philadelphia. This cannot go on.

Phillies need to end the Taijuan Walker experience​

"Since signing a four-year, $72 million contract with the Phillies in December 2022, Taijuan Walker has yielded an 8.40 ERA in the first inning," Nightengale writes.

That's not the only brutal statistic for Walker in the first inning. Hitters have a .526 batting average and a 1.052 slugging percentage against Walker in the first inning this season.

Walker has a 9.16 ERA on the year so far, and has produced -0.5 bWAR in just four outings this season. He's made four starts, gone 1-3, and been a net-negative for the Phillies.

This is the final year of his $72 million deal, meaning that he's owed just $18 million. That's something the Phillies can absorb as they did with Nick Castellanos' $100 million deal, as they'd be paying it anyway.

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And Walker, with how much he's struggling this season, would be better off not being in the rotation, or even the bullpen for the Phillies.

This season, he has allowed a 24.75 ERA in the first inning. While it's remained to be seen if that's strictly a first-inning issue or an issue with whenever he comes into a game, it's not something the Phillies should experiment with.

Walker's been a disastrous signing for the Phillies, and it's time to move on from his contract and role on the roster.

This is a massive issue for the Phillies, and when Zack Wheeler returns, it will hopefully not be an issue at all. Walker shouldn't be long for the rotation, and arguably, for the roster as well.

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