The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired RHP Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a player to be named later.
The Blue Jays have plenty of starters, with Hyun-Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson healthy, although Nate Pearson, Trent Thornton and Matt Shoemaker are currently on the IL. A first round pick in 2010, Walker had a 3.49 ERA in 28 starts in 2017 with the Diamondbacks, his first year with the club. However, he missed most of the next two seasons with Tommy John surgery, and returned to the team that drafted him, the Mariners. Starting pitching depth is key, especially for the surprise Blue Jays. Since Walker is a free agent at the end of the season, his price tag is low. A report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that the player to be named will be a minor leaguer not on Toronto\’s 60-man player pool, which means that nothing big is going Seattle\’s way. Still, it is something, and Walker is useless for them now. Even in his eighth season, Walker is still in the middle of his prime.
Walker, 28, has a 4.00 ERA with 25 strikeouts and a 4.94 FIP in 27 innings this year. In his MLB career for the Mariners and Diamondbacks, Walker has a 3.95 ERA with 503 strikeouts and a 4.24 FIP in 555.1 innings.
CarterHud 