As May comes to a close, the Philadelphia Phillies are enjoying a surprisingly strong start to the 2025 MLB season. Heading into Friday’s games, they boast a 36-20 record—the best in the National League—and trail only the Detroit Tigers by half a game for the top spot in all of Major League Baseball.
Despite the positive momentum and strong clubhouse atmosphere, the season hasn’t been without setbacks. Earlier this month, the team took a significant hit when closer José Alvarado was handed an 80-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, making him ineligible for the postseason.
Since the suspension announcement, the Phillies have been on the hunt for more pitching depth. They continued that quest to close out the month by trading for a reliever who was recently kicked to the curb by an American League club.
On Thursday evening, the Phillies revealed they had acquired left-handed pitcher Josh Walker from the Toronto Blue Jays in a cash deal. Following the trade, the 30-year-old southpaw was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Joining the Phillies represents a new opportunity for Josh Walker, who was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on May 25. The Otisville, NY native struggled during his brief stint with Toronto this season, posting a 7.20 ERA over five innings in three relief appearances. Whether a change of scenery will help him turn things around remains to be seen.
While Walker’s overall MLB journey has been rocky, he does bring one standout skill to the table: strikeout potential. Through his first 27 big-league appearances, he has averaged 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings—including an impressive 14.4 K/9 so far this season. That kind of swing-and-miss ability likely appealed to a Phillies team now missing José Alvarado, who had notched 25 strikeouts in 20 innings (11.3 K/9) before his suspension.
Still, expectations should be tempered. Walker has had trouble preventing runs at both the major and minor league levels this year, suggesting he’ll serve primarily as a depth option for now. Unless he forces the Phillies’ hand with standout performances at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, a call-up isn’t guaranteed.
At this point, Philadelphia appears confident in its current bullpen mix, even as it continues to search for a solution to Alvarado’s absence. The team will closely evaluate how Walker fits in at Lehigh Valley before considering him for a spot on the big-league roster.
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