The Phillies on Friday announced they've signed right-hander Taijuan Walker to a four-year deal. Terms of the contract were not announced, but a source told MLB.com it's for $72 million. To make room for Walker on the club¡¯s 40-man roster, right-hander Tayler Scott was designated for assignment.

Walker, 30, will slot behind Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Su¨¢rez in Philadelphia's rotation, while a combination of left-handers Bailey Falter and Cristopher S¨¢nchez and top pitching prospects like righty Andrew Painter will vie for the No. 5 job.

Walker joins lefty Matt Strahm, who signed a two-year deal last week, as Philadelphia's second and third significant moves of the Winter Meetings as it tries to upgrade its National League championship roster with a flurry of moves that had everybody talking in the lobby of the Manchester Grand Hyatt last week.

The Phillies agreed to an 11-year, $300 million deal on Dec. 5 with shortstop Trea Turner, who turned down a $342 million offer from the Padres, a source told MLB.com.?

But the Phillies checked off three boxes during the Winter Meetings: shortstop, rotation and bullpen, although they could find more relievers.

Walker went 12-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 29 starts last season with the Mets. He struck out 132 and walked 45 in 157 1/3 innings. He threw 159 innings with New York in 2021, making the National League All-Star team.

¡°Ideally, you¡¯re looking for someone who can throw a number of innings, give you 30 starts and throw 160-180 innings,¡± Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Dec. 5, when asked about his pursuit of starting pitching. ¡°You want to have someone that can throw quite a few innings for you, because we¡¯ve got the Big Three.¡±

Walker made only three starts in 2018 because of a right elbow injury, which ultimately required Tommy John surgery. But he made all 11 of his starts in the pandemic-shortened '20 season with the Mariners and Blue Jays before joining the Mets.

He has been mostly healthy since.

A potential concern is Walker¡¯s second-half performance each of the past two seasons. He went 7-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 16 first-half starts in 2021, but went 0-8 with a 7.13 ERA after the All-Star break. He went 7-2 with 2.55 ERA in his 16 first-half starts this year, but posted a 4.80 ERA in 13 starts the rest of the way.

But then there is the effectiveness of Walker¡¯s splitter, which he threw more frequently last season. Opponents batted .195 with a .267 slugging percentage against it.

Walker just seemed to fit for the Phillies, who were always shopping in that tier of pitchers below Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander and Carlos Rod¨®n. Dombrowski said that Philadelphia had no appetite to sign another player who received a qualifying offer, like Turner, who cost the team its second- and fifth-highest selections in the 2023 MLB Draft, plus $1 million from its international bonus pool. If the Phillies had signed a starting pitcher who received a qualifying offer like Rod¨®n, Chris Bassitt or Nathan Eovaldi, they would have also forfeited their third- and sixth-highest remaining picks.

¡°I don¡¯t think that we would have much of an appetite for that,¡± Dombrowski said.

Strahm went 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA in 50 appearances last season with the Red Sox. The average velocity on his four-seam fastball jumped from 93.1 mph in 2021 to 94.2 mph last season.

He effectively takes Brad Hand¡¯s role in the bullpen that includes Seranthony Dom¨ªnguez, Alvarado, Connor Brogdon and Andrew Bellatti.