Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Taijuan Walker has appeared in just four games during the 2024 season. Injuries have been problematic for the 31-year-old. After recently returning from an injury, Walker was hit by a line drive during the Phillies' 6-5 loss against the Mets on Thursday night.

According to Paul Casella of MLB.com, Walker suffered a big toe contusion. Walker discussed the injury after the game and admitted it could have “been worse.” Nevertheless, he is still dealing with frustration amid his injury-plagued season.

“It feels better now than when it first happened,” Walker said. “I tried to walk it off a little bit, but it kept getting kind of hot and numb — just started hurting… Definitely, it is frustrating. I tried so bad to go throw a pitch and just see how it felt, but couldn’t. I'm very frustrated about it, because I feel good [otherwise].”

Walker is a good pitcher. Through four games in 2024, though, he's pitched to a lackluster 4.91 ERA. Trying to find your rhythm on the mound can prove to be a challenge when you are forced to miss time.

Walker is currently in his second season with the Phillies. He had a fairly respectable 2023 campaign, recording a 4.38 ERA across 172.2 innings pitched. Walker has enjoyed better overall performances but he consistently gave Philadelphia opportunities to win as evidenced by his 15-6 record. Wins and losses may not mean what they used to for pitchers, but a 15-6 record suggests that Walker performed well enough to help the team in 2024.

Phillies' starting rotation

Zack Wheeler looks like an NL Cy Young candidate so far during the 2024 campaign. The same can be said for Ranger Suarez. Aaron Nola has pitched at an All-Star level as well. Spencer Turnbull and Cristopher Sánchez have also both performed well.

Philadelphia's pitching has been reliable. If Walker ends up missing time, the Phillies should still be able to find success. With that being said, they would certainly prefer to have Walker in the starting rotation.

Sure, his numbers do not jump off the page at the moment. Teams value veteran starting pitchers with proven track records, though. Philadelphia understands that Taijuan Walker knows what it takes to pitch at the big league level.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson provided an update on Walker after Thursday's game, via NBC Sports Philadelphia.

“Left big toe contusion. Hit right off the end of his toe,” Thomson said. “X-rays negative, we will just have to see how he comes in tomorrow.”

The Phillies will provide further updates on Friday and over the weekend. Based on Walker and Thomson's comments, it appears that the Phillies veteran may have dodged a bullet. For now, there is not enough certainty around the situation to make a timeline prediction, however.

Philadelphia is hopeful that Walker will not need to miss time. But as mentioned, the team has enough reinforcements if Walker's injury keeps him out a start or two.

We will continue to monitor and provide updates on Taijuan Walker's injury status as they are made available.