Phillies Predicted to Cut Ties With $72 Million Bust After Landing Jesús Luzardo
The Philadelphia Phillies had championship aspirations in 2024. Those hopes didn’t materialize because they were eliminated in the NLDS by the New York Mets. Changes are coming to the roster before 2025. Will one of those changes include cutting ties with starting pitcher Taijuan Walker?
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski upgraded his rotation Sunday by landing left-hander Jesús Luzardo in a trade with the Miami Marlins. Luzardo is set to join a starting staff led by Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, along with Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez, per FanGraphs’ Roster Resource.
That leaves Walker on the outside looking in. FanSided’s Mark Powell thinks the 32-year-old’s days in Philadelphia are over. He’s predicting Walker to be one of three 2024 Phillies who won’t be back next season.
“Dombrowski claimed he would give Walker a chance to earn a rotation spot in spring training – or some role on the team, even if it’s in long relief – but it’s tougher to see that happening after they added Luzardo,” Powell wrote. “Andrew Painter should be healthy again this season, as well, and will hopefully make his big-league debut. Walker doesn’t fit into the Phillies’ long-term plans, which is why he deserves a fresh start elsewhere with a team that can afford an expensive placeholder.”
Walker signed a four-year, $72 million contract ahead of the 2023 season. He owns a 5.27 ERA in two seasons with the Phillies, including a 7.10 ERA through 83 2/3 innings in 2024. The right-hander is due to earn $18 million annually in 2025 and 2026, per Spotrac.
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Phillies Likely To Hold Onto $142 Million Star Following Jesús Luzardo Trade
On Sunday morning, the Philadelphia Phillies announced a blockbuster trade to bring Miami Marlins ace Jesús Luzardo to Philadelphia in exchange for prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd. Luzardo finalizes a Phillies rotation that now includes a fifth potential ace.
In the deal, the Phillies held onto third baseman Alec Bohm, which is a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Earlier this offseason, the rumor emerged the Phillies would listen to offers on their All-Star third baseman. Bohm holds quite a bit of value in the trade market because he’s a talented infielder with multiple years of affordable team control.
The thought around baseball was the Phillies would only move Bohm for a player better than him. This means Bohm was most likely to be used in a trade for a bona fide ace like Luis Castillo or Garrett Crochet. With Crochet coming off the market and Luzardo heading to Philadelphia, there doesn’t seem to be a player available worth trading Bohm for.
Bohm is much more valuable than any reliever the Phillies could acquire in a deal right now. It’s also hard to imagine the Phillies dealing their affordable star for an outfielder when there are still outfielders like Teoscar Hernández and Jurickson Profar available in free agency.
If a trade offer falls in the Phillies’ lap that they can’t decline, they’ll take it. But it’s hard to imagine the Phillies actively shopping the 28-year-old infielder.
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