At the MLB Winter Meetings, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski confirmed the team was interested in 23-year-old stud pitcher Roki Sasaki — who was posted by his Japanese ball club and is expected to make the jump to American baseball.
Obviously, that would be a coup for a Phillies team looking for a way to improve a roster that is close to set in stone for 2025.
But it seems more and more likely, with pitchers starting to come off the board to other contenders (Max Fried signed with the Yankees, Blake Snell signed with the Dodgers, and so on) that the Phillies might wind up with the same starting five they had last season.
In Dallas, MLB.com Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki confirmed (via Phillies' manager Rob Thomson) one of the biggest fears for fans hoping the team makes a serious push to win the NL East this season in the wake of Juan Soto's Mets' deal — that Taijuan Walker might be on the mound again in April.
The Phillies could use another No. 5 starter to hold the fort until Painter’s time comes next summer, but the club said it’s prepared to move forward with what is on the 40-man roster. It is a group that includes Taijuan Walker and Tyler Phillips and prospects Mick Abel (No. 6), Moisés Chace (No. 26) and Seth Johnson (No. 15), among others.
“It's really up in the air, but I'm hoping that the program that Taijuan is on works, and he gains that velocity, he gains the extra stuff that he needs to miss bats and get soft contact,” Thomson said, referring to Walker’s workouts in Arizona. “I know he's working on it. I know the program is a good program and it's worked in the past. Hopefully it happens.” [MLB.com]
Let's take a look at some of those options (and a few others) to start the season in the starting rotation:
Taijuan Walker
Walker is due $18 million in each of the next two seasons, which is the only reason he's being considered to pitch for the Phillies again in 2025. Last season, when healthy, Walker was among one of the worst starters in baseball. He had a 7.10 ERA in 19 games, a 3-7 record and -1.6 WAR. Anyone else with those numbers would be unemployed.
But money talks, and if top pitching prospect Andrew Painter really is expected to assume the fifth starter job sometime in the first few months of the regular season, it does logically make sense to let Walker compete for the job at the very least as a stopgap with some upside.
Tyler Phillips
Phillips had a weird and brief career with the Phillies last season, filling in eight times and earning a 4-1 record, but with a 6.87 ERA that didn't really pass the eye test. He's 27 and will be in the mix this spring, but would probably not be expected to make more than a few spot starts again.
Matt Strahm
This was an idea we floated last week in the wake of news that former Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman was likely to be offered deals as a starter. Strahm has starting experience and would be a cheap alternative — and one who is more reliable than Walker. However, the move would weaken the bullpen and put more stress on the front office to bolster it.
Mick Abel
Abel should, and likely will, get every chance to make the major leagues in spring training. But the former stud prospect and first-round pick has not pitched well over the last two seasons. The 23-year-old had a 6.46 ERA and 3-12 record in Triple-A last season. The year prior, split between Double and Triple-A, Abel had better numbers, sporting a 4.13 ERA. His career WHIP as a minor league is troubling, as he allows 1.435 base-runners per inning.
Moisés Chace
A surprising name floated by Zolecki, Chace is 21 and has never pitched higher than Double-A. He was solid during a four-game stint there last year, posting a 3.66 ERA and an impressive 35 strikeouts in 19.1 innings.
Seth Johnson
Johnson was one of the Phillies' fill-in starters last year and arguably the worst, lasting only 2.1 innings and allowing nine runs in a September start against Miami. In the minors, the former Rays first-rounder was very impressive. He had 25 starts on three different MiLB teams in 2024 and had a 2.33 ERA — though he did walk a lot of hitters. He is 26 and is a player likely to be getting a look this spring.
Michael Mercado
His first start went well, his second did not, and Mercado was not reliable out of the bullpen in his five MLB appearances last season. He is 25 and can start and be a reliever, but might have a better shot of making the 26-man roster out of the bullpen.
Griff McGarry
The last player we'll realistically give a mention as a fifth starter is McGarry, who was at one time one of the Phillies' top pitching prospects but has since cooled off a bit. He's pitched quite a bit as a professional but has never made it to "the show," with 143 games and 76 starts tallied in the minors. He has a career 4.43 ERA.
MORE: Rob Thomson, Phillies 'not shopping' Alec Bohm
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