The Phillies have already lived through one expensive rotation miss in Taijuan Walker, and now the Cubs have put another familiar name on the market.
Chicago designated Jameson Taillon for assignment on Monday after the 34-year-old was battered to a 5.92 ERA in 15 starts. He also gave up a National League-high 25 homers in just 76 innings, a collapse that finally pushed the Cubs to move on. For Philadelphia, that creates an ironic opening: the pitcher the Phillies passed on when they signed Walker could now be available as a possible stopgap for the very hole Walker left behind.
Back in the offseason before the 2023 season, the Phillies were coming off a pennant run and trying to load up for another push. Dave Dombrowski handed Trea Turner an 11-year, $300 million deal to handle shortstop and brought in Walker on a four-year, $72 million contract to help cover for the departure of Zach Eflin. Around the same time, the Cubs gave Taillon a nearly identical four-year, $68 million deal.
At the time, the two right-handers looked like close bets. Taillon had a 3.84 ERA in 787 ⅔ innings with 710 strikeouts, while Walker carried a 3.89 ERA and 806 strikeouts in 898 innings.
For a while, Taillon looked like the better investment. He posted a 3.93 ERA over 449 ⅓ innings in his first three seasons with Chicago, while Walker was getting hit hard to the tune of a 4.88 ERA in 380 innings.
Then both deals started to go sideways, just at different speeds.
Walker’s 2024 season was brutal, with a 7.10 ERA in 19 games and a lost rotation spot. This year got even uglier.
The Phillies cut him after five starts when he was sitting on a 9.13 ERA and had allowed eight home runs. The Los Angeles Angels took a shot on him a few months ago, but they couldn’t justify keeping him on the roster either.
Taillon has not exactly rescued his own reputation. His fastball is down under 92 miles per hour, more than three ticks below average, and his Baseball Savant page is almost entirely blue. There’s not much in the profile that screams rebound.
Still, the Phillies’ situation is bleak enough that Taillon at least makes some sense as a no-risk gamble. Aaron Nola is described as a scheduled loss, and the Walker/Andrew Painter/Alan Rangel mix has not produced anything useful. Two of the five rotation spots are already problems, and the club can’t really make the back end worse.
Taillon may be fading, and there’s a real chance he’s thrown his last meaningful pitch in the majors. But even in the worst season of his career, his ERA is still more than three runs better than Walker’s.
That’s not a solution. It is, though, a possible bandage for a rotation that badly needs one.
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Hoffmans past run in Philadelphia gives the idea a little more weight than a typical deadline rumor, especially for a club trying to steady a relief group under pressure. The Blue Jays and Phillies have been discussing possible frameworks, and the clock is part of what makes this one feel so tricky. Philadelphia needs help, Toronto needs to decide whether to sell low, and the next step may come down to how far each side is willing to go before the deadline passes. [Read more 🡒]