PHILADELPHIA — A Phillies bullpen in need of a shakeup got one from within Sunday.
The Phillies called up Seth Johnson from Triple A, designated Jose Ruiz for assignment and announced Taijuan Walker will return to the ‘pen full-time with an eye toward becoming a one-inning guy. As part of the moves, Mick Abel is slated to get his second MLB start Thursday in Toronto in Walker’s spot.
Johnson, acquired last summer from Baltimore in the Gregory Soto trade, was one of the most obvious internal candidates to fill the Jose Alvarado-sized hole in the bullpen for the next 80 games and into the postseason. The 26-year-old is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA in 16 games with Lehigh Valley. He’s transitioned from the starting rotation to relief and will provide some length initially. But his fastball velocity has ticked up into the upper 90s since his move to the bullpen. If all goes well, he could fill the medium- to high-leverage spots that Ruiz did last year.
“We need some length,” Thomson said. “Johnson is available, and he’s been throwing the ball fairly well. The velocity has really spiked up since he’s gone to the ‘pen.”
Johnson had one start in the big leagues last year, a disaster in Miami in which he gave up nine earned runs in 2.1 innings.
Ruiz is coming off his own disaster, giving up five earned runs in one inning of Saturday’s 17-7 loss to Milwaukee. It’s part of a season-long funk for the 30-year-old, who developed into a reliable reliever last year that Thomson trusted.
But around an injured list stint for neck spasms, Ruiz never found his feet in 2025. The veteran of nine major league seasons has an 8.16 ERA in 14.1 innings over 16 appearances this season. It’s a far cry from his 3.71 ERA (and 5-1 record) over 52 appearances last year.
Ruiz got the axe ahead of Carlos Hernandez, who has shown enough recent control and general arm talent to entice Thomson into thinking there’s more there.
“He’s starting to throw strikes,” Thomson said. “If he throws strikes with that arm, he’s going to be good. He’s going to get outs.”
Hernandez, 28, was selected off waivers from Kansas City before the season. He has a 6.14 ERA in 22 innings, most low-leverage looks. He’s got a 5.00 ERA in his last 10 appearances, covering nine innings.
They’ll be joined by Walker on a permanent basis. The Phillies have vacillated on his role this year. He was earmarked for the bullpen before Ranger Suarez got hurt in spring, then stepped in when Aaron Nola went down with an ankle injury.
Walker made six starts to open the season, his ERA at 2.54. He then had two three-inning relief appearances before returning for starts May 21 and May 30.
Thomson, though, wants Walker to have a consistent role. And he wants to see what he can do within a structure that allows him to pitch an inning every couple of days.
“I want to see him in a one inning stint and see what he can do,” Thomson said. “…I think Tai’s got a chance to make us a lot better coming out of the ‘pen.”
Abel made his major league debut on May 18, throwing six scoreless innings to outduel Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates. That call-up was explicitly a one-game stint. But this one could be more long-lasting, Thomson said. Some of that depends on Nola, who will throw a bullpen on Sunday to test his injured ankle.
But it could also owe to Abel proving his worth. Since his debut, he’s returned to Lehigh Valley and allowed one earned run in two starts covering 10.2 innings.
“He was really good,” Thomson said. “He’s been really consistent.”
Source: Berkshire mont