Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez were 2024 All-Stars, and Aaron Nola was his typical innings-eating self after signing a lucrative contract extension. But the Phillies’ presumed fifth starter wasn’t just unreliable–he was the worst starting pitcher on any team in the league.

Taijuan Walker was in his second year with the Phillies in 2024 after signing a four-year, $72 million deal to come over from the New York Mets. The 2021 National League All-Star was so bad that he was left off the postseason roster entirely, and that may be only the tip of the iceberg.

The Phillies are rumored to be pursuing Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet in trades, which would fill Walker’s place in the rotation with a budding superstar. Mark Powell of FanSided recently predicted that Walker would be included in the trade package heading back to the White Sox in a hypothetical Crochet deal.

“Assuming the Phillies can sign an extend Crochet, they may be willing to attach even more prospect capital to the deal if the White Sox take a bad contract back in return,” Powell said.

“The White Sox will need someone to eat Crochet’s innings if they were to trade him to Philadelphia. Walker has two years and $36 million remaining on his contract, but he had a 7.10 ERA last year before he was pulled from the Phillies rotation.”

It would seem that one of the primary objectives for the Phillies at this point is finding a way to get rid of Walker, and there’s even been speculation that they could eat the remaining two years on his contract to cut him immediately.

From Walker’s perspective, perhaps being traded instead is the ideal outcome. The Phillies just need to figure out if Crochet is attainable first, and then they can work out with Chicago whether it makes any sense for Walker to be in the deal.