The Philadelphia Phillies and right-handed pitcher Taijuan Walker have agreed a four-year, $72 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Tuesday.
A day after scoring a blockbuster deal with shortstop Trea Turner, the Phillies added one of the best pitchers left in the free-agent market to their rotation. And it didn’t stop there, as Philadelphia also inked left-hander Matt Strahm on Tuesday for a two-year, $15 million deal, sources told Passan.
Walker comes to Philadelphia after one of the strongest seasons of his career in 2022, when he started 29 games for the New York Mets and had a 3.49 ERA, 2.6 bWAR and 1.19 WHIP in 157 innings and hit 132 batters while walking 45.
The Phillies are the fifth team in Walker’s major league career, including the Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays and Mets.
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The 30-year-old right-hander was a reliable back-of-the-rotation starter for New York throughout the season before declining his $7.5 million player option for 2023 and accepting a $3 million buyout to explore the free hand. The Mets declined to make Walker a qualifying offer.
Walker underwent surgery by Tommy John back in 2018 and missed the entire 2019 season. His 2022 campaign was his most successful on the hill since treating a partial UCL tear in his right elbow.
Walker is the second pitcher to leave the Mets rotation after Jacob deGrom signed with the Texas Rangers. New York responded by signing Justin Verlander to a two-year, $86 million deal.
The 31-year-old Strahm proved to be a reliable left-handed option for the Boston Red Sox, who he joined in 2022 after spending the last four seasons with the San Diego Padres. Over 44⅔ innings, he hit out 52, walked 17 and allowed five home runs while posting a 3.83 ERA in 50 games.
The Phillis spent most of 2022 with only Jose Alvarado as a high-leverage left-hander in their bullpen, although the addition of Walker Bailey could push Falter there as well if he doesn’t secure fifth in Philadelphia’s rotation. With the departures of Zach Eflin and Kyle Gibson via free agency, and Noah Syndergaard, Brad Hand and David Robertson reaching the open market, the Phillies entered the offseason looking for pitching help to fill a depleted staff strengthen.
Under Turner, Walker and Strahm, the Phillies’ combined spending spree totaled $387 million over the past 30 hours. Her projected 2023 payroll is currently more than $230 million – right on the first competitive balance sheet tax threshold of $233 million.