CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Nobody is ready to talk about Taijuan Walker's future with the Phillies.
That’s because nobody knows what’s happening with Ranger Suárez's back.
Walker had pitched well this spring until he allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings in Wednesday’s 9-7 Grapefruit League loss to the Yankees at BayCare Ballpark. Walker is going to make the Phils’ Opening Day roster, unless he is traded in the next few days, which is unlikely. But the presumption since camp opened last month is, if Walker makes the team, he will be the long man in the Phils’ eight-man bullpen.
But that might change now because Suárez has a stiff back following a four-inning, 60-pitch start at the Carpenter Complex on Saturday.
“That’s why we haven’t announced anything with the rotation, who’s pitching when and who’s got the home opener,” manager Rob Thomson said. “All that stuff.”
Suárez dealt with a back injury last season, which derailed a stellar first half. Thomson said Suárez's back is “not quite as bad” as last year, according to tests.
“The next 24, 48 hours will tell us a lot,” Thomson said.
Asked if this could affect Suárez's ability to pitch the first week of the season, Thomson said: “I don’t know, I don’t know. We’ll know more in the next couple days.”
If everybody is healthy, the Phillies’ five-man rotation is set with Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Christopher Sánchez and Suárez. But if Suárez needs an extended amount of time to recover, Walker is expected to take his spot. Because of two off-days in the season’s first six days, the Phillies would not need a fifth starter until April 6 against the Dodgers. If Suárez opens the season on the 15-day injured list, it can be backdated three days.
That would allow him to rejoin the team as early as April 8 in Atlanta.
Walker went 3-7 with a 7.10 ERA in 19 appearances last season. He has started 209 times in 217 big league appearances over his 12-year career.
He came to camp trying to win a job in the rotation, which explains why he didn’t want to talk Wednesday about a potential future in the bullpen.
“I haven’t thought about that,” Walker said. “I think I’ve got one more start [on Monday]. I’ve started every game so far this spring. That’s kind of been my focus.”
It also explains why he didn’t want to entertain a question about things he might have learned about pitching in the bullpen last season.
“I mean, if I’m being honest, last year was just a [s---] show,” he said. “Honestly, it was such a mess. I couldn’t tell you. I was so lost last year with everything. I really couldn’t tell you. I was just trying to get outs at that point.”
Walker allowed nine hits, two walks and three home runs against the Yankees on Wednesday. He struck out one.
In his first three spring starts, he looked much better. His velocity has been up. His splitter is much improved.
He was a nice story in Phillies camp.
“I didn’t win any of the 1-1 counts,” Walker said about Wednesday’s struggles. “I wasn’t very good. I didn’t get ahead. When that’s the case, you’ve got to be more on the plate, more in the zone. The margin for error is really small. Just a lot of 1-1 counts I didn’t win.”
Suárez has a 1.80 ERA in two appearances this spring. He said he has been healthy, although his velocity was down in his first start.
“He says he’s been fine,” Thomson said. “I’ve got to trust him. Usually, he’s a little bit of a slow starter anyway.”
Ironically, the Phillies opened camp talking about bringing along Suárez slowly.
Suárez was scheduled to start a split-squad game on Friday. Now, it’s unclear when he will pitch next. He could stay in Florida when the team heads to D.C. to start the season and pitch an intrasquad game before he is needed in the rotation.
Strahm is coming along
Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm is a wild card to make the team, but only because he has not pitched since March 5 due to inflammation and a bone bruise in his left shoulder.
Strahm threw a bullpen session on Wednesday morning and had his best velocity of the spring, he said. His four-seam fastball averaged 91.5 mph in his only two Grapefruit League appearances after averaging 93.4 mph last spring. Thomson said Strahm could pitch in a Grapefruit League game on Friday or Saturday.
“Today was a [personal record] for 2025,” Strahm said of his velocity in the 'pen. “Here we go. Three months in, here we go.”
How Strahm feels on Thursday might determine his chances of opening the season in the bullpen.
“That’s going to be the big test,” he said. “The biggest issue I was having early in spring was the recovery, the bouncing back. I wasn’t in pain throwing. I’m sure I was throwing around things or through things, but I wasn’t feeling it as much as I was the next day. The bigger meeting is what comes tomorrow morning.”
Strahm said the Phillies will make the final decision about his availability for Opening Day. He acknowledged that he would have tried to pitch through his shoulder soreness, but Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “sniffed it out” and stopped it.
“He’s one of the best for a reason,” Strahm said. “I may have mentioned something to my agent; my agent may not have liked that. Then, he spoke with Dave, and Dave decided to play 'bad guy.' That’s Dave just doing his job.”