Phillies’ Emerging Position of Need.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ looming need could be addressed before the July 30 trade deadline. Recent games have demonstrated that starting pitching may be required. With Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull unavailable due to injuries, the fifth starting place has been cycled. Tyler Phillips temporarily replaced Michael Mercado as the Phillies’ fifth starter. According to Phillies manager Rob Thomson, Phillips will continue in the starting rotation. Aaron Nola is set to start the Phillies’ first game following the All-Star break. Cristopher Sánchez and Phillips are expected to start the remaining games of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In four games this season, including two starts, Mercado has a 1-2 record, a 9.26 ERA, and eight strikeouts. Phillips has also shown promise this season, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts in two games, one of which was a start. While not ideal, their performances show room for growth and progress. Given the uncertainty in the rotation, it is not surprising that Mercado would be optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley during the All-Star break. Zack Wheeler was expected to start on July 14, but was unable to do so due to a back issue, and Ranger Suárez has struggled since J.T. Realmuto was placed on the injured list on June 11.

Phillies’ Emerging Need: Walker Underperforming This Season.

So far this season, Walker has not pitched as well as he did last year. In 10 starts this season, Walker has a 3-3 record with a 5.60 ERA and 43 strikeouts. Walker has a 73 ERA+ and a 5.78 FIP this season. For comparison, Walker had a 15-6 record with a 4.38 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 31 starts last season. Walker had a 99 ERA+ and a 4.53 FIP last season. Last season, Walker had a 2.5 bWAR and a -0.3 bWAR this season. However, Walker has a better BB9 and SO9 rate this season than last. However, Walker has a worse H9 and HR9 rate this season than last. It does not help that other teams are unwilling to take on his contract in a trade.

Turnbull Likely To See Innings Limit

Currently, Turnbull is having a career-best year. In 17 games, including seven starts, Turnbull has a 3-0 record with a 2.65 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Turnbull has a 155 ERA+ and a 3.84 FIP this season. This is currently the best ERA and the best ERA+ Turnbull has had in a season in the majors. Turnbull also has the career-best H9 and SO9 rates at the moment. However, Turnbull has pitched more innings this season than in three of his five major league seasons. In addition, Turnbull has not pitched more than 57 innings in a season since 2019. While Turnbull has been a great offseason signing, it is still being determined how many more innings he can pitch in the regular season.

Potential Solutions For The Phillies Emerging Need

There are many ways the Phillies emerging need could be addressed. One way is rotating pitchers from Triple-A until Walker and Turnbull come back. The Phillies currently have five pitchers at Triple-A already on the 40-man roster. It is worth noting that the Phillies will probably go to a six-man rotation sometime in August. There is a stretch starting on August 13 that runs through September 1, where the Phillies play 19 games. The lone off day in that span is on August 19. Adding someone at the July 30 trade deadline, similar to the trade for Michael Lorenzen last year, could be a possibility. Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zack Littell would be a good fit for that role if it is filled by a trade.