‘That was fun:’ Taijuan Walker earns first career save as his resurgence in Philadelphia continues

Photo Credit: Major League Baseball

It hasn’t been a smooth ride for pitcher Taijuan Walker in his first few seasons as a Philadelphia Phillie. Injuries, poor performances, and fan criticism highlighted his first two years with the ball club. However, a new and improved Taijuan Walker has taken the mound for the Phillies in 2025. His electric bullpen outing on Wednesday and his strong starts in the first quarter of the season have him back in the good graces of the City of Brotherly Love.

Walker recorded his first career save in a 7-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night. The 32-year-old pitched three innings, striking out seven batters, including the first five he faced, and allowing one hit. Walker came on in relief of starter Cristopher Sanchez, who allowed one hit in six strong innings. While the Phillies cruised to a seven-run win, Walker earned the save because he pitched three or more innings in relief.

“I just felt good, I knew I had at the most three innings, so I just went out there and attacked," said Taijuan Walker in a postgame interview with NBC Sports Philly. "I was a little more aggressive than usual. I felt like I could empty the tank out, knowing that it was three innings max. I just let it rip and threw all my pitches. That was fun. Body felt good, refreshed."

Coming into the season, it was unclear what Walker’s role would be. The team traded for starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo in the offseason, adding him to one of the strongest rotations in baseball with Sanchez, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, and Zack Wheeler. The team was also anticipating that Andrew Painter, MLB’s No. 5 prospect, would join the bullpen or rotation at some point in the season. At the time of this article, Painter is starting to ramp up his rehab process as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, starting for Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the first time on Thursday night.

When Suarez started the season on the 15-day injured list, a spot in the rotation opened for Walker. The news wasn’t taken well by Phillies fans, who saw Walker finish spring training with a 7.41 earned run average in five starts.

Walker’s struggles this past spring did not come as a surprise to many. The 13-year veteran had been nothing short of disappointing in his first two seasons with the team after signing a 4-year, $72 million contract in December 2022. The Phillies needed a No. 4 pitcher behind Nola, Suarez, and Wheeler, so they turned to Walker, who had pitched for the rival Mets the two previous seasons.

In 31 starts in 2023, Walker recorded a 4.38 ERA, the third highest of his career. Walker was included on the Phillies’ playoff rosters for the National League Wild Card Series, Division Series, and Championship Series, but didn’t pitch. While he didn’t live up to his billing in 2023, it was just one season. There was hope in the clubhouse that the 2021 NL All-Star would turn it around in 2024.

Unfortunately for Walker and the Phillies, his performance in 2024 was far worse than what we saw in 2023. In spring training, Walker featured in two games, pitching 4.2 innings. Walker had a 15.43 ERA in those two outings. Walker started the regular season on the injured list with a right shoulder issue, and often found himself on the shelf with a variety of injuries throughout the season. Walker was moved to the bullpen toward the end of the season and was not included on the team’s NLDS roster. He finished the season with a 7.10 ERA in 19 games, the worst mark of his 13-year career.

Many Phillies fans were in favor of moving on from Walker this past offseason, with the emergence of Sanchez and the continued development of Painter. That thought was amplified when the Phillies traded within their division to acquire Luzardo, potentially signaling the end of the line for Walker in Philadelphia. With five quality starters and a top prospect waiting in the wings, would the Phillies want to move a struggling starter making $18 million a year to the bullpen?

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and manager Rob Thomson kept their faith in Walker, despite the outside noise, but patience was running thin for the Philly faithful. When Suarez went down in the Spring, the Phillies kept Walker on the roster as a spot starter and long reliever. Walker received a smattering of boos when he was introduced by Phillies public address announcer Dan Baker on Opening Day.

Walker tuned out the boos and turned up the heat. In his six starts replacing Suarez, Walker held a 2.54 ERA. Walker’s velocity has been up, and his home run and walk numbers have been down. Walker struggled with the speed of his fastball last season, topping out in the high 80s. Having worked hard to improve those numbers this offseason, Walker has seen his fastball hit the mid-90s this season, including during Wednesday night’s three-inning save.

Suarez returned to the rotation last Sunday, prompting the Phillies to move Walker to the bullpen. That move allowed him to record his first career save and could lead to Walker pitching in higher-leverage situations as the season progresses.

"Now you start thinking about different things, you know? But you still want to keep his pitch count up because we might go to a six-man rotation at some point,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “But, jeez, that looks pretty good for one inning, too. If that guy can dial it up for an inning or two, that's really something."

"I mean, it's something I feel like you have to work toward," Walker said. "I do see myself as a starter still, but at the end of the day, whatever I can do to help the team win, whether it's three innings, four innings, early in the game or late in the game. I'm always ready to pitch."

The road to get to this point has not been easy for Walker, a well-respected veteran amongst his peers. Despite his constant struggles as a Phillie and the hate he received from a brutally honest fan base, Walker never let any of that faze him. If he isn’t pitching or in the bullpen, he is always on the top step of the dugout supporting his teammates, and if there is no game, he is quietly working behind the scenes to improve and do anything to help the team win. Walker is now getting his deserved flowers from fans because of the player and person he is.