PHILADELPHIA — Rob Thomson’s calculation, in the 13 playoff games in which he didn’t use Taijuan Walker, was about winning. It wasn’t about the three years and $54 million the club still owes to the veteran right-handed pitcher.
In the aftermath of a seven-game loss in the National League Championship Series, however, the reality of how to repair a relationship has surfaced. It wasn’t helped by Walker liking posts on X (formerly Twitter) that reflected an aggrieved tone and were highly critical of Thomson.
The manager Thursday wrote that off as admirable if slightly misdirected competitive zeal.
“Not one bit,” Thomson said in response to a question about his concern with the Taijuan Twitter posts. “People get emotional. He’s a competitive guy. I love Taijuan, I really do. This guy gave us 15 wins. Every time he goes out to the mound, he competes until we take him out and he never wants to come out, and I want a guy like that.
“That type of thing doesn’t bother me. I’ll call him at some point. I love him; I love his demeanor, I love his toughness.”
Walker had an impressive regular season, going 15-6 with a 4.38 ERA in a career-high 172.2 innings. But he struggled late, and his tendency for rough first innings (7.63 ERA this year) isn’t conducive to the immediacy of playoff baseball.
Walker, who went seven innings in a Sept. 30 game against the Mets, and Cristopher Sanchez threw live batting practice before Game 1 of the NLCS. Walker struggled. Sanchez got the start in Game 4, going 2.1 innings. As an emergency length option, Walker didn’t so much as warm up at any point in the series.
With the uncertainty surrounding free agent Aaron Nola and the fact that none of the hyped Big 3 of minor league arms is likely to start the season with the big club, Walker’s an even bigger part of next year’s plans. Rebuilding trust will have to be an offseason priority.
“I think he had a real solid season for us,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “I think he did a nice job … and I look for him to be a good pitcher for us next year.”
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Thomson is headed into the final year of his contract, which he said doesn’t bother him one iota.
“My whole career, I’ve never worried about my contract,” he said. “I’ve never worried about the length of my contract. I’ve never worried about getting fired. It just doesn’t enter my mind, because I can’t control it. I leave it alone and I put my head down and do my work.”
Thomson had intended to retire at the end of 2022 and had given up on interviewing for managerial jobs. But Joe Girardi was fired after a slow start, Thomson took over on an interim basis and turned the ship around, leading to a World Series berth. With a 155-118 record plus 19 playoff wins, he’s keen to keep chasing a world title.
While Thomson drew criticism for in-game decisions in each of the last two postseasons, Dombrowski bristled at the intimation that his manager might not be the club’s future leader.
“We just played in a World Series last year,” Dombrowski said. “We played in the NLCS and were one game away from going to the World Series this year. I think he’s done a tremendous job steering our club. He’s a great baseball man, enjoy working with him, respect him a great deal.”
Dombrowski said that a contract extension for Thomson is, “something we haven’t even approached,” though several discussions fell into that category within 48 hours of a shocking playoff ouster.
Thomson talks like someone with a new lease on his baseball life since ascending to the helm.
“I love this city and this organization, this team,” Thomson said. I’ve never had as much fun in my life as I’ve had the last couple of years, so yeah, I can envision that.
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The direction of the offseason will be charted by Nola’s status. But the Phillies also have a decision on Zack Wheeler.
The 33-year-old enters the final season of a five-year, $118 million deal. He’ll make $23.5 million in 2023.
Wheeler has been everything the Phillies could’ve wanted and more, with a 43-25 record and 3.06 ERA in 101 starts. He received Cy Young votes in 2020 and 2021 and likely will again this year. In the playoffs, he went 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA in five appearances over 27.2 innings.
“We would hope to have Zack Wheeler in our organization for years to come,” Dombrowski said. “He’s been tremendous since he’s been here, and we look at him as a real stalwart of our organization. We would hope that he would be here for a long time.”
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For the second straight offseason, the Phillies have declared Brandon Marsh an every day outfielder. He batted .277 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs in 132 games. He was one of the most consistent playoff hitters, batting .342 and ending on a nine-game hitting streak.
By the playoffs, Thomson opted for Johan Rojas in center with Marsh in left, where both are plus defenders.
Rojas, promoted from Double-A in July, batted .302 in the regular season but was a postseason liability, with an .093 average and 15 strikeouts in 43 at-bats.
Rojas’s opening day roster spot is not guaranteed, Dombrowski said.
“I’m not going to anoint him a position with our big league club next year,” he said. “He has to be able to contribute some offensively, or else he’s going to have to go down and continue to develop. It doesn’t mean we don’t love him; we think he’s a really good player. But we do need more offense than that.”
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By the defensive metrics, the Phillies had one of the best second basemen in 2023 and one of the worst shortstops. They happen to be guys who’ve played the other’s position.
But that doesn’t mean the Phillies are eyeing a switch of Bryson Stott and Trea Turner.
“I don’t think so,” Dombrowski said. “Stott’s made a really good adjustment to second base and he feels great. … I think Trea Turner will be better defensively for us this year.”
Stott is a Gold Glove finalist; at 11.7 runs saved, he ranked third among second basemen. Turner was third from bottom among shortstops, though the hope is that more consistency in his second year in Philly will reduce his league-leading 27 errors.
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After his twin NLCS meltdowns, Craig Kimbrel’s days in Philly are almost certainly done. That leaves the closer’s spot open, but it’s not the biggest priority for Dombrowski.
Matt Strahm, Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado are under contract next year. Jeff Hoffman and Gregory Soto are arbitration eligible. The Phillies had three arms from the 2022 playoffs – Andrew Bellatti, Nick Nelson and Connor Brogdon – who didn’t factor in this year. Orion Kerkering has potential closer stuff.
When asked if he’ll chase a big-name closer (Josh Hader, anyone?), Dombrowski demurred.
“We’ve got some pretty good guys out there that can close the game,” he said. “Maybe some of them did run out of gas at the end.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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