5:10pm: The Mariners have announced Walker’s return to Seattle. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Austin L. Adams was placed on the 60-day injured list. The 28-year-old Adams — not to be confused with Austin D. Adams, who signed a minor league deal with the Twins earlier this winter — underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL last October.
12:59pm: It’s a one-year, $2MM deal, per ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The pact also comes with another $1MM available in incentive money.
12:42pm: All indications are that the Mariners have or soon will reach an agreement to bring back former hurler Taijuan Walker. The free agent was spotted in Seattle’s camp and has since posted a rather suggestive tweet about his next destination.
Previous indication was that the M’s had a standing MLB offer out to Walker. Other clubs were also in pursuit; he had recently put on a showcase for the Cubs, for instance. As it turns out, the 27-year-old will return to where he got his start. The Mariners chose him with the 43rd overall pick of the 2010 draft and called him up to the majors for the first time in 2013. Walker never quite came into his own in Seattle but did have two productive campaigns. He ended up being dealt away — one of many players spun off in recent seasons by GM Jerry Dipoto.
The Diamondbacks got some good work from Walker, including 157 1/3 innings of 3.49 ERA ball in 2017, before losing him to Tommy John surgery. A year later, his rehab from said operation was slowed by a strained shoulder capsule that ultimately wiped out nearly all of his 2019 campaign. Although Walker made it back to the MLB mound late in 2019, the Snakes decided it wasn’t worth the investment of one more arbitration-eligible season to bring him back.
Health permitting, it seems that Walker will now slide into the fifth spot of a Seattle rotation that’ll also include Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Justus Sheffield and fellow offseason pickup/Tommy John returnee Kendall Graveman. There’s a good deal of upside in the second through fifth slots in the rotation behind the quietly solid Gonzales, but the Seattle rotation is also rife with uncertainty.
Depth options such as Justin Dunn, Erik Swanson, Nick Margevicius and Nestor Cortes Jr. could all get some run in 2020, be it do to injuries within the big league staff or merely poor performance. Non-roster options who could head to Triple-A if they don’t break camp with the club include veteran Wei-Yin Chen and former top prospect Manny Banuelos, each of whom signed minor league deals this winter.
Cave
Great jersey swap!
GoCardsGo
Only the most skilled people work at MLBTR!
NorahW
I don’t get where you and flyerzfan are coming from. This guy was a Mariner before, and he wore 44 then. This is obviously a picture from his previous stay with the M’s.
Rangers29
The joke
Your head
DarkSide830
and quickly arranged too#
flyerzfan12
Great photoshop of him in a Mariners jersey…
NorahW
Huh? He wore 44 when he was with the Mariners before. This is probably from then.
BaseballFan12
I do believe they call that sarcasm.
dynamite drop in monty
Jesus you fell for it again
NorahW
It wasn’t especially funny.
dynamite drop in monty
That’s no excuse.
Begamin
Not surprised the guy who doesnt get the joke didnt find it funny
MoneyBallJustWorks
has this guy joined multiple teams by now?
VonPurpleHayes
An intriguing pick up. I hope he has a bounce-back year.
warwhatisitgoodfor
117 wins here we come!!!
DarkSide830
they’ll certainly do better than those atrocious PECOTA rankings rank them, that’s for sure
Bill the Cat
10 comments so far and only 1 from someone who apparently gives a crap about the actual news from the article. Thanks VonPurpleHaze.
Love this as an M’s fan, low cost, low risk. Possible high reward. We’ll still lose 90+ games but it won’t be Taijuan’s fault. He’ll either perform or be gone. I’ll always be watching and happy for every win we can get.
IjustloveBaseball
You may ultimately be correct in saying the Mariners will lose 90+ games. But, while it can be said for a lot of teams, if several of Seattle’s young players take steps forward all at once, they may be a better team than expected.
That’s not saying they will compete with the Astros, A’s, or even Angels/Rangers, but I think the M’s are the best of the “rebuilding” clubs.
bloomquist4hof
Definitely could have a .500 season if a few players have good years.
Finlander
Agreed! They have a nice farm, especially the stud outfielders and Justin Dunn. And a pitcher’s park is not a bad spot for TW to build value.
bloomquist4hof
Gonzales, Walker, Kikuchi, Sheffield, Graveman, Dunn, and Gilbert all have potential to be good this year and they have some depth past that. Probably mediocre as a group but who knows, weirder things have happened.
Donovan Voigt
You a Scott Bloomquist fan @Bloomquist?
filthyrich
Willie Bloomquist!!
Put him in the Hall for sure.
bigdaddyhacks
This is a very smart deal. I hope Jerry breeds him into a closer. I think he can Kenny Jansen himself there.
CubsRebsSaints
With his 88 mile an hour heater? No chance
ShootyBabbit
I wonder what Reese McGuire thinks of this signing?
Cave
Comments on that post are closed for a reason.
Dorothy_Mantooth
Leave poor Reese alone. He got excited thinking about catching Ryu this season.
dynamite drop in monty
Yeah I’m surprised that story isn’t getting more …… exposure.
Bigdj2100
What happened with Reese?
dynamite drop in monty
It will be….. revealed sooner or later.
parksy78
He got caught pulling his goalie in a parking lot
HALfromVA
Boom
HALfromVA
Nice
throwinched10
One of the most logical fits for any free agent.
wayneroo
Will he be a FA after this year, or does he get the third arb year he didn’t get from AZ? I’m always fuzzy on this stuff.
bloomquist4hof
Yes he will be a free agent after this year. He has over 5 years of service time will be over 6 by year end.
geotheo
He has 5 years service time. After this year, he will be a free agent
xcfan
Curious who gets the DFA hatchet as a result of this addition.
houkenflouken
Hopefully dee Gordon or one of the utility infielders like Sam haggerty
toycannon
Dylan Moore please. Gordon provides some leadership at least.
Goose
The irony is Walker was the jewel of the Diamondbacks trade and in the end Marte was. I wonder what his medical reports are for the Diamondbacks to let him walk and no one and sniffed at him until now. There are a few teams that should have taken a shot at him by now.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
I’m surprised it took this long, but my understanding is he’s had offers for a while and has been thinking about which team gives him the best shot at resurrecting his career. With the Mariners being familiar and not in contention this year, it’ll be a good environment that can afford to give him a very long leash.
hyraxwithaflamethrower
Solid pickup for the M’s. I was actually hoping the White Sox would pick him up instead of Gio because I feel there’s more upside there, even if Gio has been steadier. He’s one of the better bounceback candidates this year.
J leathal86
Why would t the orioles do this unbelievable
geotheo
Maybe he wanted to go to Seattle. Sometimes, the player doesn’t want to go to a particular place. Baltimore is rebuilding, hitters ballpark and 19 games a year with the Yankees and Red Sox. Not the best place to revive your career
dynamite drop in monty
Rumor has it that the player has the audacity to choose which team he signs with.
bloomquist4hof
If he gets his arm strength back and is throwing closer to 94 then 84 by spring this could be one of the better pickups.
toycannon
Glad he is back, but I was really hoping for both Dunn and Sheffield in the rotation to start the season.
24TheKid
Do you think Kendal Graveman is going to keep Dunn out of the rotation if Dunn looks ready in Spring Training?
toycannon
Hopefully not. Actually I could see them using a 6 man rotation. Kikichu was used to that in Japan.
DarkSide830
also very possible Walker starts in the pen or as an opener to allow him to ramp up and limit his innings. same could be said about Graveman (though to a lesser degree)
24TheKid
Actually a pretty good idea.
Sideline Redwine
Cubs screwed this one up—seriously wondering now if Theo is determined to just hold his breath? Quintana is below average, Chatwood was a bad decision from the get go. Who is gonna start games? Yu and Hendricks are fine, hoping for one more solid year from lester, then… Mike Bielecki? Ken Holtzman? Maybe Jamie Moyer???
dynamite drop in monty
All those guys throw harder than Walker did in his recent showcase
Phiilies2020
Dipoto has his critics but I think he’s a savvy GM. Bringing back Walker was a very good decision and it’s a very reasonable contract. Wei-Yin Chen is a good fit in Seattle as well. He may have a half decent bounceback campaign in a swingman type role over there. Seattle certainly knows how to accommodate Asian players and it’s the right ballpark. If they were in the AL Central I’d give them an outside shot at making the playoffs but I just cant see them even being close to Oakland or Houston in any scenario this season.
toycannon
Seattle has had at least one Asian player on their roster dating back to Mac Suzuki in 1995. I don’t think any other team even comes close.
bravesfan
Orioles … where y’all at…
Dorothy_Mantooth
Really wish the Red Sox made this deal instead. If he performs well, he’ll be a great trade asset at the deadline, especially with this affordable contract. Very wise move even if he fails to hatch.
dynamite drop in monty
Wouldn’t be gobsmacked if they had a similar deal on the table. Just makes more sense for Walker to rebuild himself amongst familiar territory
B-Strong
Same. With no 5th starter, they’d have been better off going after another arm than Kevin Pillar even if they do need some OF depth.
AllinTX
How is he in a Mariners uniform so quick?
Hawktattoo
Was a former Mariner
MikeyHammer
Any news on Austin Z. Adams ?
24TheKid
Heard he’s signing with the Nippon Ham Fighters
mlbfan
Good low risk move by Dipoto.
mlbfan
Good low risk move by Dipoto.
Rsox
Gonzales
Kikuchi
Walker
Graveman
Chen
Possible Mariners rotation on opening day. Sheffield and Dunn likely joining at some point.
ayrbhoy
Interesting- I see it (not really in any order) as 1. Marco Gonzales 2. Yusei Kikuchi 3. Justus Sheffield 4. Kendall Graveman 5. Taijuan Walker, Justin Dunn as long relief or spot starter
john9977
He will be throwing batting practice for American League hitters soon enough.
jorge78
Finally, middle initials come into vogue!
Donovan Voigt
Kinda odd Stearns wasn’t in on this guy considering the pitching lineup the Brewers have put together
rudyrudnick
i think this is a good signing but it does not matter much as the team is rebuilding
24TheKid
Why?
Rsox
Walker is still young enough that a successful return could keep him around through the rebuild.