Phillies place Taijuan Walker on injured list; Spencer Turnbull moves back into the rotation
Turnbull, who has a 1.67 ERA in six starts this season, is scheduled to start on Wednesday against the Tigers, his former team.
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The Phillies placed pitcher Taijuan Walker on the 15-day injured list with right index finger inflammation, the team announced Sunday.
Spencer Turnbull will move from the bullpen and back into the starting rotation for Walker’s next scheduled start on Wednesday in Detroit.
To fill Walker’s spot on the 26-man roster, the Phillies called up right-handed pitcher Michael Mercado from Lehigh Valley. He will move to the bullpen and could make his major-league debut as early as Sunday against the Diamondbacks. Walker’s stint on the IL is retroactive to Saturday.
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Manager Rob Thomson said on Sunday that a “hot spot” had formed on Walker’s finger that was impacting his splitter. Usually his most potent weapon, Walker has struggled with commanding his splitter this year. Hitters are batting .426 and slugging .704 against the pitch this season.
This isn’t the first time Walker has dealt with blisters related to his splitter, and he previously tinkered with his grip. Thomson said the blister doesn’t impact Walker when he throws his fastball, so he will be able to keep his arm moving while on the injured list. He also hopes it will be an opportunity for Walker to work on other aspects of his delivery until he is able to throw his splitter again.
”It comes and goes a little bit. So we really want to knock it out,” Thomson said. “… It all revolves around being able to throw a split.”
In Walker’s start on Friday, he allowed three home runs in four innings and has a 5.60 ERA across 10 starts.
Turnbull will start on Wednesday against the team that drafted him in 2018. He started this season in the starting rotation and posted a 1.67 ERA in six starts, but was sent to the bullpen in early May to make room when Walker returned from a previous stint on the injured list for right shoulder soreness.
Turnbull has a 2.63 ERA overall this season. On Friday in relief, he threw 49 pitches across three scoreless innings. Thomson said the target for Turnbull is around 70 pitches on Wednesday.