PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies are inching closer to a healthy rotation for the first time in nearly two months. Ultimately, that will force manager Rob Thomson to make decisions. But given the uncharacteristic restructuring of late, he’ll be willing to trade current problems for that future challenge.

Taijuan Walker was activated from the injured list on Tuesday. He had been sidelined since June 22 with inflammation of his right index finger and has made just 10 appearances this year after suffering shoulder soreness in April.

Getting Walker back to a point where he can catch innings regularly — last year he threw 172.2, a career high — would go a long way in easing pressure on the bullpen. Thomson said Walker won’t pitch a full number on Tuesday against Miami.

“He can be a force when he’s on form,” Thomson said. “We saw that for a while last year and hopefully we can get that back. He wasn’t really on form at the beginning of the year and gave us five innings of just guts. That’s just the way he is. He’s a competitor and he goes out every day and gives us his best and fights through it.”

Walker only played four innings for the hitless Phillies on Tuesday, losing 5-0 to the Miami Marlins.

Meanwhile, Ranger Suarez (back soreness) threw 60 pitches in two innings of live batting practice and the bullpen on Tuesday. Thomson is encouraged by the progress the April Pitcher of the Month has made in the National League.

“The curveball and changeup were both really good,” Thomson said. “The control was a little off in the first inning, but it got a lot better in the second inning.”

Suarez will do another rehab session on Sunday. That could be at Triple-A Lehigh Valley or in Philadelphia. If it’s the latter, it’ll be so the Phillies can increase his pitching and avoid another rehab session.

Spencer Turnbull (latium strain), the Phillies’ fifth starter to begin the season, is scheduled to start throwing again this week. If all goes well, he’s still a few weeks away from a possible return, and the most likely path would be as a reliever in the postseason.

If Walker and Suarez were healthy, the Phillies would have six starting options, and Tyler Phillips would have earned his spot in the rotation. That opens the door to a six-man rotation, leaving Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and especially Cristopher Sanchez with fewer innings in October.

This tactic would leave the bullpen one arm short, but that’s a balance the Phillies will try to find if necessary.

“That’s always the case, but we have some opportunities at Lehigh to move people around if we need to,” Thomson said. “So we’ll address that when we’re ready.”

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Austin Hays (hamstring) is making progress in his rehab. Thomson said he has been hitting in the cage and is making progress in his throwing program. He should also do some light defensive work.

Hays was placed on the injured list on August 9, retroactive to August 8. He was acquired by Baltimore at the trade deadline.

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To accommodate Walker’s return, Yunior Marte was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Marte has struggled in three major league appearances this year, averaging a 7.13 ERA in 24 innings. Since his last appearance on July 21, he has allowed 16 hits, 13 earned runs, three home runs and eight walks with eight strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Even before allowing seven earned runs in two-thirds of an inning in Arizona on Saturday, things weren’t going well for the hard-throwing but erratic right-hander.

Max Lazar, who as a major leaguer struck out seven of the eight batters he faced without allowing a single hit, didn’t have to overcome a particularly high hurdle to stay in the game. But he did it nonetheless.

“He was throwing strikes, throwing people out, no heartbeat,” Thomson said. “It was really good.”

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NOTES >> Orion Kerkering has allowed runs in five of his last 10 games, nearly doubling his ERA, from 1.26 to 2.42. He has a 7.00 ERA over his last nine innings. Thomson isn’t overly concerned, but he’s aware of the right-hander’s velocity drops. Kerkering threw 62 innings between the regular season and the playoffs last year and is already at 49 this year. “This is his first full major league season, so we’re trying to give him a couple extra days in between to make sure we don’t put him in danger,” Thomson said. “The velocity drops a little bit, so the other stuff drops a little bit, too. So we want to make sure he stays fresh and healthy.” … In the minor league tally last week, Nick Nelson was activated off the waivers list and sent directly to Lehigh Valley. Darick Hall and Max Castillo did the same on Sunday, although Castillo and Ricardo Pinto were released on Monday. … Phillips (4-1, 4.83 ERA) takes the mound on Wednesday against Miami’s Edward Cabrera (2-3, 5.20) to close out the shortened series. The Phillies trail with four wins over Washington.

Originally published: August 13, 2024 at 22:05