PHILADELPHIA — Taijuan Walker has started 217 games in his 13 years in the big leagues and come out of the bullpen just 10 times as a long man. None of those relief appearances have been for three outs or fewer.
With the Phillies’ bullpen in flux and other rotation help available, manager Rob Thomson will ask Walker to enter new territory.
“I want to see him in a one-inning stint and see what he can do,” Thomson said.
Thomson announced Sunday afternoon that Walker will join the bullpen on a full-time basis — not as a mop-up man or a length option, but as one of his go-to arms.