Taijuan Walker is walking batters at the highest rate of his career. Here is how he’s trying to regain his command.

When Taijuan Walker takes the mound on Sunday afternoon, he will do so with a new mindset. The Phillies signed Walker to a four-year, $72 million deal this offseason to eat innings. So far, he has not done that, and his walk rate is a big reason why.

This trend is not the product of nominative determinism. For most of his 11-year-career, Walker has been known for quickly getting ahead in counts and attacking the strike zone. From 2013, his rookie season, to 2022, he posted a walk rate of 7.5%. In 2023, it is 13.2%.

This all came to a head May 1 in Los Angeles. Walker gave the Phillies his shortest outing of the season — just 3⅓ innings — and issued three free passes to the Dodgers. Walker has a six-pitch arsenal and found himself overthinking. He tried to throws cutters up and in, backdoor sliders, and was having trouble locating his splitter. Instead of throwing at the heart of the plate, he was trying to nibble the corners — and missing.

Pitching Caleb Cotham approached him during the game.

“Just throw your splitter,” he said. “Throw it four times, five times in a row if you have to.”

Once Walker did that, he felt himself settle in a bit. After the game, he had a talk with catcher J.T. Realmuto and Cotham. They encouraged Walker to try not to be too perfect. They decided to play to his strengths and simplify his approach. Moving forward, Walker will lean on his splitter and his fastball, especially early in games.

“We’re just going to use his two best pitches 95% of the time and then 5% of the time sprinkle the other stuff,” Realmuto said. “If you’re ahead in the count, and you’re dominating guys with your best pitches, then the third time through the lineup you can use the other stuff. I think we’ve used the other stuff a little too early and a little too often.”

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The idea is that if Walker relies primary on his two best pitches, his four other pitches — his sinker, sweeper, curveball, and cutter — will play even better. This is where the mindset comes in. Walker conceded that with such a big arsenal, it can be tempting to find the perfect pitch for the perfect situation. He’d like to get back to who he was before.

“I’d like to just be aggressive in the zone, and really trust my stuff,” Walker said. “I think I was trying to do too much with too many pitches. Instead, I’d like to just have the catcher set down the middle and throw the crap out of the ball.”

Added Cotham: “I think there’s one part delivery and one part mindset. I think they feed each other for him. I think it’s this mindset of — my primary goal is to fill the zone up. And have the delivery work for him in a simple way. Just let it fly. Give up a little bit of control to get a lot of control in the strike zone. Don’t try to make perfect pitches.

“I’m going to establish what I do, and make them deal with me, before I deal with them.”

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Manager Rob Thomson said Saturday that he doesn’t view Nick Nelson as a candidate for the rotation. He sees Nelson, who is currently on a rehab assignment as he recovers from a left hamstring strain, as more of a bulk reliever. ... Cristian Pache (right knee meniscus tear) will rejoin the Phillies this weekend and will travel back to the Florida for his rehab next week. … Andrew Bellatti (right tricep tendinitis) made his first rehab outing for single-A Clearwater on Friday. He pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Thomson said Bellatti’s velocity was good. He will have another rehab outing on Sunday and will be re-evaluated after that.