While the Philadelphia Phillies’ offence has been hot and cold to begin the season (mainly cold), the starting rotation has been outstanding. Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Christopher Sanchez, and Spencer Turnbull have all had outstanding performances, combining for a 2.54 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 19 starts entering Friday.
The Phillies’ rotation has been so strong that they haven’t missed former All-Star starter Taijuan Walker, who is presently recovering from a right shoulder impingement and has yet to make his season debut. That could change soon, though, given his promising injury update ahead of Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
Walker completed his scheduled bullpen session on Friday without incident. According to Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki, Walker will make his third and final rehab start for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sunday, following which he expects to be activated from the 15-day disabled list and return to Philadelphia next week.
Given that timeframe, Walker’s season debut for the Phillies would be next weekend on the road against the San Diego Padres. Regardless of Turnbull’s early-season performance against the White Sox on Friday, manager Rob Thomson will most likely shift him to the bullpen to make room for Walker.
Walker, 31, is preparing to start his 12th season in the major leagues. He is in the second year of a four-year, $72 million contract with Philadelphia, having gone 15-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 31 starts last season.
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