What Mick Abel’s demotion means for Taijuan Walker, Andrew Painter

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies on Friday optioned starter Mick Abel to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Taijuan Walker will take his spot in the rotation and start on Tuesday against the Giants in San Francisco.

Walker will be limited to four innings. The Phillies will reassess the rotation after the All-Star break.

Rob Thomson said the Phillies sent Abel down so he can “breathe a little.” Abel struggled in his last two starts. He gave up four home runs against the Mets on June 27 and could not get out of the second inning in his last start on July 2 in the first game of the doubleheader against the Padres.

Prior to those two outings, Abel had a 2.21 ERA in four starts. The 23-year-old will continue to pitch out of the rotation in Lehigh Valley.

“Just get a little reset,” Thomson said. “It’s not uncommon: (Cristopher) Sánchez did it, (José) Alvarado did it, Héctor Neris did it. A lot of guys.”

For now, it’s a spot start for Walker. He had by far his best outing since being moved to the bullpen on Wednesday. Walker pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one walk while striking out one to keep his team in the ballgame.

“Tai did a good job of mixing,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said after game one. “He used all his pitches, threw them all for strikes. For me, the key for Tai is getting the split going. Once he gets that back, I think the sky is the limit for him.”

The Phillies are getting closer to top prospect Andrew Painter’s MLB debut. He made his latest start on Thursday in Lehigh Valley against Scranton, allowing four runs in the fourth inning after throwing three scoreless frames. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven over five innings.

Thomson said he watched Painter’s outing on television.

“The fourth inning, he gave up four runs, gave up some hits and left the ball in the middle of the plate, but he got a lot of swing-and-miss in the other four innings,” Thomson said. “Threw strikes. Spun it really well. Pitched up in the zone really well. I thought he was good.”

Painter will make two more starts for Lehigh Valley before the All-Star break. Both will come on the road against the Syracuse Mets. He will pitch on regular rest in both outings.

The Phillies won’t need a fifth starter until July 22 against the Boston Red Sox. File that away as a potential date for Painter’s highly anticipated big league debut.

Seth Johnson was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Abel’s spot on the roster. Johnson was up with the Phillies during the doubleheader as the 27th man. He pitched two scoreless innings in game one, and picked up his first two MLB strikeouts in the process.

“He was really good,” Thomson said about Johnson after game one on Wednesday. “I mean, really good. Throwing strikes. He broke out that curveball, and it’s sharp. It’s a swing-and-miss pitch. There’s a lot of things we have to talk about.”