Taijuan Walker is headed to the bullpen.
The ex-Met is being shifted to a setup position because the Phillies shake up their beginning rotation following a catastrophe outing from Jesus Luzardo, who gave up 12 runs in a 17-7 loss to the Brewers on Saturday.
Along with shifting Walker to the bullpen, prospect Mick Abel will go into the rotation, Jose Ruiz was designated for task and reliever Seth Johnson was recalled from the minors.
Walker has made eight begins this season and are available in twice as an extended reliever, holding a 3.53 ERA over 43 ⅓ innings.
This would be the first time in his profession that Walker — who’s at present in yr three of a four-year, $72 million deal — has recurrently pitched out of the bullpen.
“He’s a pro,” supervisor Rob Thomson informed reporters. “He really is. I’m sure he’s not 100 percent happy. I think he still thinks of himself as a starter. But he’s a pro. And I think that he’s a guy that’ll do anything to help the team.”
Walker, who gave up 4 runs in 4 innings in his final begin, informed reporters on Friday {that a} transfer to the bullpen could possibly be good for him.
“If I have one inning to blow it out, whatever it is, I feel like my stuff would play up just a little bit more,” he mentioned. “Knowing that I got one inning, just let it eat.”
Abel, who made his MLB debut on Could 18 with six scoreless innings, will begin in Walker’s place on Thursday towards the Blue Jays.
The plan is to maintain this setup in place in the meanwhile whereas Aaron Nola continues recovering from a sprained ankle, along with his return anticipated in mid-June.
“I have a lot of confidence in all those guys,” Thomson mentioned. “But I think Tai’s got a chance to make us a lot better coming out of the pen.”
