CHICAGO \u2014 Just after 10:30 a.m. CT, veteran starter Taijuan Walker departed the Phillies clubhouse for the last time, a clubhouse attendant by his side carrying his Phillies duffle bag with his No. 99 displayed on it.<\/p>\n
Walker, who was released Thursday morning, was the first significant casualty of a horrendous beginning to the Phillies\u2019 season. The Phillies will pay him roughly $15 million not to pitch for them the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has tried everything he possibly can, just has not been able to be effective for us this past year,\u201d president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.<\/p>\n
Walker\u2019s place on the team had become untenable; he had a 9.13 ERA in 22 2\/3 innings with eight homers allowed. He was in the final year of a four-year, $72 million deal, a contract designed to make Walker a mid-rotation stabilizer. He finishes his Phillies tenure with a 5.12 ERA in 89 appearances and pitched two-thirds of an inning in one postseason game \u2014 as a mop-up man. Just four pitchers in Phillies history have made more than 70 starts with an ERA above 5.00.<\/p>\n
Teammates and coaches have long praised Walker for his demeanor and professionalism while struggling on the mound.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best teammates and best people I\u2019ve ever been around,\u201d manager Rob Thomson said. \u201cI hope people understand that this guy always took the ball, never refused it, always answered questions after the game, took down some innings for us when our bullpen was short. This guy\u2019s a pro, and I\u2019m going to miss him.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s disingenuous to pin an 8-16 Phillies record<\/a> on one person; Walker was just one item on a long list of problems the Phillies face. Zack Wheeler will return to the rotation<\/a> Saturday, which would have bumped Walker to a long reliever role. Rather than keep him as rotation insurance, the Phillies decided to cut ties. No one will blame them.<\/p>\n The Phillies feel good about the state of the bullpen, Dombrowski said, and preferred to put someone else in the mix.<\/p>\n It is a move that makes sense, but it leaves the Phillies with relatively thin starting pitching depth. Dombrowski and Thomson mentioned Alan Rangel, who pitched three innings in relief Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs, as one option. He was sent to Triple A on Thursday to keep him in turn, Thomson said. Prospect Jean Cabrera, whom the Phillies have long touted as a starter, has a 9.00 ERA in 16 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season.<\/p>\n The Phillies have managed to keep their rotation healthy in recent years. Any change to that could prove detrimental given the state of starting depth.<\/p>\n