Phillies Strike Again, Sign Taijuan Walker To $72M Deal: Reports

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies have made their second major free agent signing in as many days, inking free agent starting pitcher Taijuan Walker to a four-year, $72 million deal, according to multiple reports.

The signing was first reported Tuesday night by Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

The deal comes just more than 24 hours after it was announced they had signed star shortstop Trea Turner to an 11-year, $300 million deal. The pair of massive contracts signals that the Phillies and owner John Middleton are fully committed to doing whatever it takes to make a return trip to the World Series in 2023.

Walker, 29, was outstanding for the rival New York Mets in 2022, pitching to a 3.49 ERA over 157.1 innings with 132 strikeouts. Walker will likely slot in behind Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, and just ahead of Ranger Suarez, in what now must be considered one of the best foursomes in the National League.

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Walker fills an obvious need for the Phils, who had previously expressed interest in adding one veteran pitcher to fill their two holes in the rotation. President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said the other slot would be filled by one of the team's many skilled youngsters, either a proven option like Bailey Falter or a top prospect like Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, or Griff McGarry.

Based on Dombrowski's words during a November conference with media members, however, the decision to sign Walker comes as a welcome surprise. Dombrowski said the Phillies were not considering the high end of the free agent pool, which includes future Hall of Famers like Jacob DeGrom and Justin Verlander. And while Walker isn't in that category, he's a strong 2-3 starter, not a back end piece, and has a far stronger track record than most of the rest of the available field.

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It's just the latest incident of the Phillies stealing a star from one of their division rivals. Turner and Bryce Harper came up with the Washington Nationals, Schwarber played in Washington the year before the Phillies signed him, Wheeler was a longtime Met, and catcher J.T. Realmuto starred with the Miami Marlins.