For the second time in eight months, Ranger Suarez is heading to the IL with a bad back. With the move, Taijuan Walker rejoins the starting rotation after struggling horribly last season. According to manager Rob Thomson, Suarez going to the IL is precautionary and in hopes of avoiding any long-term down time by worsening the injury.

Suarez was having a breakout season and was being talked about as a potential Cy Young candidate after his first 98 innings when he had a 1.83 ERA and was selected to the NL All-Star team. He skipped the all-star game to rest his back but still wound up on the IL and missed a month of the season. When he returned, his ERA over the rest of the season ballooned to 6.54 over 52 innings.

“We don’t want this thing to linger, so if we do officially IL him, we don’t think it’s going to be long,” Thomson told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Walker, 32, pitched to a 7.10 ERA last season in 15 starts and four relief appearances and was left off the postseason roster. Walker’s velocity was up in spring training and he pitched well until his final outing when he got hit for 6 runs in 3 2/3 innings by the Yankees. The plan was to use Walker as a long man out of the bullpen, but the injury to Suarez necessitates him moving back into a starting role. The Phillies actually will not need a fifth starter until the sixth game of the season, which is April 3rd against the Rockies, which is a Thursday afternoon game.