One day after landing Tria Turner Under an astounding 11-year contract, the Phillies have boosted their rotation by agreeing to a four-year free agent deal. Taeguan WalkerReporting by John Heyman of the New York Post (Twitter links). Anthony DiComo MLB.com Add that Walker, a Boras Corporation customer, would guarantee $72 million in the deal.
Walker, 30, steps into a deep and talented course under the titles of professors Zack Wheeler And the Aaron Nola. He will join the left Suarez goalkeeper In the third and fourth spots of the rotation whose fifth starter has not yet been determined. Philadelphia’s president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said earlier this season that he aims to sign a veteran rookie and leave the starting job open for one of the Phillies’ many internal options — a roster that currently includes the left hand. Billy Walter and major potential clients Andrew PinterAnd the Mick Abel And the Griff McGarry.
The Phils could add more depth, but based on Dombrowski’s previous comments and the fact that they committed $372 million to Turner and Walker last day, it seems unlikely that another high-profile addition is in store. In the wake of agreeing to terms with Turner, Dombrowski expressed interest in adding a file Mid-slewing arm and for adding a rear damper – Ideally without signing a free agent, he rejected a qualifying offer. The terms of Walker’s four-year deal have surpassed even the most optimistic expectations, but he nonetheless checks the previous two boxes, ostensibly paving the way for the Phillies to turn their sights on the bullpen market.
The once elite Walker, who pitched just 14 innings from 2017-2018 due to shoulder surgery and Tommy John surgery, has quickly shaken the “injury-prone” tag associated with his name. Since signing a one-year deal to return to the Mariners prior to the 2020 season, the 6’4″, 235-pound right-hander has made almost the entire starting slate: 11 games in a 60-game 2020 season followed by a streak. His 29 seasons with the Mets begin in 2021-22.
Along the way, Walker hit a 3.80 ERA with a strike rate of 21.5%, a walk rate of 7.8%, and a ground ball average of 43.4% in 369 2/3 total innings pitched. While hardly a flamethrower, the Walker sits 93-94 mph with his four-seamers and complements this heater with a mixture of four grades of secondary offerings: the break, sinker, slider, and rarely used bender ball. He’s averaged just over 5 1/3 innings per start in recent years, but some of that may be a Mets career they’d rather keep healthy.
While many teams are reluctant to allow rookies to switch the lineup more than three times, Walker’s splits for third time through the standings are actually pretty solid. Since 2020, when he faced an opponent for the third time in a game, Walker has yielded only a .232/.303/.391 hitting streak. That translates to a .303 wOBA tied with one of his new teammates in the rotation, Nola, for 37th out of 132 pitchers in that three-year span.
As Walker’s past few seasons have been, the $72 million guarantee he received on his new contract remains a somewhat eye-popping number. It’s been a bull market for starting shooters so far, to say the least, but the $18 million annual value over four years marks a seismic step forward in the mid-cycle gun market. Walker undoubtedly benefited from his relative youth and lack of a qualifying pitch, but guarantees of this magnitude for a pitcher of this caliber, while not unprecedented, are very rare. Moreover, while we’ve seen newbies of this type of land guarantees in this range in the past – the royals fell Ian Kennedy For $70 million, the Marlins signed Wei Yin Chen For $80 million – usually spread over a five-year period. Precedent AAV this size, on a relatively long-term deal, because this shooter caliber is rare.
None of this is a jab at Walker, who has done well in the three years since returning from that pair of injury-lost seasons. And if Walker can continue the show at a pace that matches hiss 2022 output in particular, he will end up justifying the deal. However, he’s hit 150 innings just four times in his major league career and has only posted a double 4.00 ERA in a 162-game campaign, so he’s expecting a replica of his output in 2022 — especially in light of Shaky personal batting ball – He would be very optimistic.
However, the Phillies needed some stability with the Kyle GibsonAnd the Zack Evelyn And the Noah Syndergaard Everyone got into free agency, and this winter gun prices have been strong. Eflin, for example, got $13.33 million from AAV in a three-year deal with the Rays’ low-budget all-team, and did so on the heels of a season in which he pitched just 75 2/3 innings. Gibson, who turned 35 in October and has a 5.05 ERA in 31 starts for the Phillies, still secured the $10 million surety on a one-year deal in Baltimore. The price of average or better innings — and the price of shooters who can reliably provide those innings — appears to have increased in the early stages of the recently reached 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement.
From a payroll standpoint, the addition of Walker would boost the Phillies to $223.5 million in payroll next year, per roster resource (assuming an even payroll distribution). What’s more, Walker’s $18 million AAV will push the Phillies into luxury tax territory for what will now be a second consecutive season. They’re currently projecting $235 million, which is just $2 million north of the $233 million barrier, but it seems fair to expect more additions on the horizon — to say the least. As a second time offender, the Phils will pay a 30% increase on the first $20 million they cross the $233 million line, and they will be on the hook for a 42.5% fine for any increases in the $20-40 million range.
That didn’t seem to matter much to owner John Middleton, who had just seen the Phillies fall to the World Champion Astros in a competitive six-game game. With Nola poised to become a free agent next winter, the 2023 campaign may be the last time he and Wheeler line up the dynamic punch at the top of Philadelphia’s rotation. Wheeler’s contract expired after the 2024 season, and JT Realmuto will be 32 years old before Opening Day 2023. Winning time in Philadelphia is now, and in a way that’s totally on-brand, its aggressive owner and similarly charismatic Head of Baseball Operations – direct, affordable upgrades across the agent market The free to boost the franchise’s hopes while its elite core is still together and still in its prime.
