Taijuan Walker

[bunsen82]

 

"Barely able to get through that single inning"? Groundout, double, flyball, strikeout. 15 pitches, 11 strikes. Seems like a normal inning to me?

 

Obviously teams want to know where he's at right now, but sometimes injuries are just timed poorly. Walker had the misfortune of having TJ surgery in April 2018, which automatically meant he was going to miss more season time than most other pitchers who had the same surgery. Then he had a setback during his rehab, which isn't unusual and kept him out longer. The fact that he returned, even for a single inning, is encouraging that the shoulder setback wasn't *too* serious.

 

Walker's actual time missed between MLB appearances was 533 days, compared to 634 days for Pineda. But because of the timing, Walker effectively missed 2 full seasons, versus only 1.5 seasons for Pineda.

Normal inning except if you watched it.  The groundout and flyout were rockets hit right at the defensive player.  He did get out of an inning, but they were teeing up on him, they just didn't score any runs that inning, it could have gotten out of hand quick.  If it was such a great inning, why wasn't he left out for a another?

 

If his health was decent, he would have a contract.   He is obviously considered damaged goods at this point.  Not to say he can't come back, but the writing appears to be on the wall.  His only advantage is that he is young.  

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

Normal inning except if you watched it.  The groundout and flyout were rockets hit right at the defensive player.  He did get out of an inning, but they were teeing up on him, they just didn't score any runs that inning, it could have gotten out of hand quick.  If it was such a great inning, why wasn't he left out for a another?

I didn't say it was great. And the plan was likely for him to exit early anyway -- he hadn't thrown a pitch in an actual game (majors or minors) in 533 days. It's not like Arizona pulled him because they couldn't possibly let him face the Padres 5-7 batters, with nothing on the line.

 

I appreciate if you actually watched it, but it's also a sample size of 3 batted balls. How much do you want to read into 3 batted balls (2 of which went for outs) for a pitcher who hadn't thrown in a game in 533 days?

[jud6312]

There's already too many question marks in this rotation to give a guaranteed contract to a guy with significant injury history.

 

Minor league deal with a ST invite? 100% I'm in. Anything beyond that and let someone else take the risk.

[Danchat]

If I understand the deal that the recently signed Chacon got from us his is an milb with a guarantee of 1.6 mil. He gets another 1.9 mil if he actually makes the team. It seems that this would be a fair deal to offer Walker as well. A small money risk for a potential high reward.

I’m pretty sure Chavin gets $1.5m if he makes the team, and up to $1.9m based on innings pitched. Minor league deals rarely ever give the player that much money if they don’t make the team.

[HawksNest]

FYI: Bob Nightengale tweeted that Walker worked out in front of 20 scouts today and that his fastball was clocked at 85-88 mph.

 

His career average is 94 mph.  

 

Doesn't sound like he's remotely ready at this point.

[Vanimal46]

FYI: Bob Nightengale tweeted that Walker worked out in front of 20 scouts today and that his fastball was clocked at 85-88 mph.

 

His career average is 94 mph.

 

Doesn't sound like he's remotely ready at this point.

I was just coming here to post this. Hard pass.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

FYI: Bob Nightengale tweeted that Walker worked out in front of 20 scouts today and that his fastball was clocked at 85-88 mph.

 

His career average is 94 mph.  

 

Doesn't sound like he's remotely ready at this point.

That's interesting.

 

Walker was at 93.3 MPH in his appearance at the end of the season.

[Otto von Ballpark]

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I think Walker is a perfect fit for the Mariners. They should be able to give him a decent offer and if he performs they could net a coveted prospect or two for their system at the deadline. I think if the Twins want him they will have to offer more than other teams would. If he is healthy he is likely smart to wait this out until spring training as he could end up starting for some team as there will likely be injuries or greater concern about rotations as the spring wears on.

Looks like that is where he ended up:

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/02/mariners-taijuan-walker-apparently-closing-in-on-contract.html

[David HK]

I can't help but feel we missed out on this guy. Time will tell, but if he'd have taken a minors deal, I'd have jumped on it.

[AlwaysinModeration]

I can't help but feel we missed out on this guy. Time will tell, but if he'd have taken a minors deal, I'd have jumped on it.

While I tend to agree with you, it seems pretty clear that the Twins staff was more interested in Homer Bailey and Jhoulys Chacin than Walker.

[ashbury]

I can't help but feel we missed out on this guy. Time will tell, but if he'd have taken a minors deal, I'd have jumped on it.

Seems pretty likely he had the major league offer in hand for a while, but was forced to wait until pitchers-and-catchers-report so that the Mariners could put someone on the 60-day DL to make room for him. If so, no minor league deal was going to interest him, though it would not surprise me if the Twins inquired.

[TFRazor]

 

FYI: Bob Nightengale tweeted that Walker worked out in front of 20 scouts today and that his fastball was clocked at 85-88 mph.

 

His career average is 94 mph.  

 

Doesn't sound like he's remotely ready at this point.

That is... Holy crap that's bad.

[mikelink45]

I am indifferent.  Is he better than what we have already signed?  Is signing injured pitchers our new strategy?

[Rich]

Taijuan Walker signed a 1 year $2 million deal with the Mariners according to MLB TRADE RUMORS. He was the 43rd overall pick of the 2010 draft with a MLB Career ERA of 3.95. He reported to the Mariners Arizona spring training camp on Thursday and says he's healthy and ready to pitch. It will be interesting to see how he does after recovering from the injuries.