Phillies notes as Taijuan Walker nears season debut, Trea Turner wins NL Player of the Week
Phillies notes as Taijuan Walker nears season debut, Trea Turner wins NL Player of the Week originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
CINCINNATI – When Charlie Manuel managed the Phillies, he felt the need one spring to try to extinguish any complacency that might be infesting his clubhouse. So he made a point of telling the media that every spot on the roster was up for grabs. "Ain’t gonna be no gimme BS here,” he grumbled, or words to that effect.
The reports looked at Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard. They looked at Cole Hamels, Shane Victorino and Jamie Moyer. They looked at each other. Clearly, come hell or high water, there were plenty of guys who had spots wrapped up no matter how they performed in the Grapefruit League.
With that in mind, Taijuan Walker threw 102 pitches in his final rehab start Sunday for the Triple-A Lehigh IronPigs. Barring an unforeseen setback, his next start will be for the Phillies, probably over the weekend in San Diego.
Time will tell whether or not that’s a wise decision but, really, manager Rob Thomson is wedged firmly between a rock and a hard place.
Under most circumstances, Walker would be reinstated to the rotation spot he occupied before going on the injured list (shoulder soreness) and that would be that. Veterans generally don’t lose their role because they got hurt. That’s especially true for a veteran in the second season of a 4-year, $72 million contract. Yes, sometimes there is gimme BS in baseball.
There are a couple factors that make this situation devilishly complicated, though.
The first and most obvious is that the pitcher he’ll almost certainly replace, righthander Spencer Turnbull, is 2-0 with a 1.23 earned run average in his first four starts. He’s allowed 10 hits in 22 innings. There’s also a long and honored tradition in baseball of riding the hot hand as long as possible.
The second is that several question marks hang over Walker’s head. He was hardly overpowering during his rehab. His ERA against minor leaguer competition was 4.20. His velocity was down.
“Adrenalin. Weather. I don’t know if that’s it. I’m just assuming when he gets into a Major League ballpark in a good setting it’s going to go up a little bit,” Thomson said before Monday night’s series against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. “Now we’re going to put him in the rotation.”
Walker declined an interview request before Monday’s game.
He’s scheduled to throw a bullpen Wednesday. He could make his first start of the season as early as Friday or be pushed back to Sunday to split up lefthanders Rangers Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez in the rotation. But the manager left no doubt that he’s coming back. Soon.
And, with scheduled off days on May 2 and May 9 precluding going to a 6-man rotation, there’s no realistic option that would allow Turnbull to continue starting as long as everyone else stays healthy.
That will require a tough conversation for Thomson. It doesn’t seem fair. He’s sure to mention to Turnbull that since he’s pitched so few innings over the last there years due to injuries, that closely monitoring his workload is in the pitcher’s best interest.
It’s also worth mentioning, though, that Walker’s attitude also has to be taken into account. He was seemingly disgruntled after not appearing in the postseason last year, so the Phillies have to at least consider his frame of mind if he doesn’t reclaim his spot now that he’s medically cleared to return.
Matchups for the remainder of the Reds series: Sanchez (1-2, 2.95) vs. LHP Andrew Abbott (1-2. 2.70) Tuesday at 6:40 p.m., Turnbull vs. LHP Nick Lodolo (2-0, 0.75) Wednesday at 6:40 p.m. and RHP Zack Wheeler (1-3, 2.30) vs. RHP Graham Ashcraft (3-1, 5.24) Thursday at 1:10 p.m.
TURNER TIME: Phillies shortstop Trea Turner has been named National League Player of the Week after batting .462 with five doubles, a homer, 10 runs scored and four RBI in six games.
When he stole home against the White Sox on Sunday it was his 40th straight successful attempt. That ties Hall of Famer Tim Raines for the third longest streak in MLB history trailing only Ichiro Suzuki (45) and Vince Coleman (50).
