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The Philadelphia Phillies are sitting atop the NL East Division with a fabulous 51-36 record, 1.5 games ahead of the New York Mets. They are coming off a series win over the San Diego Padres and are about to host the Cincinnati Reds for a 3-game set.
Ahead of the series against the Reds, the Phillies have made a couple of roster moves. Mick Abel was sent down to Triple-A in favor of Taijuan Walker coming back to the rotation (for now). Walker will start the game against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and then reassess him after the All-Star break the following week.
Walker began the season as a starter but was moved to the bullpen in June. As a matter of fact, his season began on the right track with a six-inning scoreless outing against the Colorado Rockies. He then followed up with another solid performance against the Atlanta Braves, where he allowed zero runs in 4.2 innings. After that, it started to go downhill. Now, he is in the bullpen and has struggled in that role. In three separate occasions, he allowed a home run and five in total.
Mick Abel seriously struggled against the Padres earlier this week, allowing five runs in fewer than two innings. His ERA rose to 5.04 and WHIP up to 1.36. The Phillies decided that sending him back down to the minors was the smart call with the All-Star break coming up. The team will need Walker healthy and active late in the season, and they need to figure out if he can become a starter again.
As mentioned by Matt Gelb, Walker likely won't go more than 4.0 innings. Walker must stay calm and collected and not let the home runs continue to happen. In his last outing, he went 2.2 innings against the Padres, allowing no hits and striking out one.
