Taijuan Walker, now fully healthy, ready for comeback season with Mariners
When Taijuan Walker departed Seattle for Arizona three years ago he was 24 years old, still in the early stages of his big-league career.
He left the Mariners as part of a blockbuster trade following the end of the 2016 season, with what looked like many promising years ahead on the mound, but injuries cost him most of his final two seasons with the Diamondbacks.
Walker, now 27, officially inked his anticipated return to Seattle on the first day of spring training Wednesday. He told reporters in Peoria on Thursday morning that he is back to feeling completely healthy, has thrown four bullpens and is “letting (the ball) go pretty good, too.”
But, in many ways, the Walker returning from Arizona isn’t the same Walker the Mariners scooped up out of a Southern California high school in the first round a decade ago. Through his seven seasons in the majors, and through working back from long injuries, he can bring veteran value to one of the youngest clubs in baseball.
“He’s learned a lot about what to do — sometimes what not to do — but the biggest message I put across to him is, ‘You know, sometimes when you give a lot you get even more back,’ ” Mariners manager Scott Servais said.
“Taijuan’s learned. He’s learned what it’s been to be a No. 1 prospect-type guy, he’s dealt with some injuries here in his career, so he’s got a lot to offer our younger players.”
Who is Walker now?
“As a pitcher, I don’t know, it’s been a while,” Walker said. “But, I think as a person and a player ... I was around some really good veterans, and I just kind of learned how they went about their game, how they went about their business, and those were things I took away.
“They helped me a lot, and now my focus wants to be helping the young guys come up. There’s a lot of young pitchers, and if they have any questions, if I can help in any way, whether it be one piece of advice, that’s kind of my goal now moving forward in my career.”
Walker last pitched regularly in 2017, when he made 28 starts in his first season with the Diamondbacks, posting a 9-9 record and season-best (more than five starts) 3.49 ERA. Three starts into his 2018 season, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a partial tear in his right elbow. He was on track to return during the 2019 season, but a shoulder strain derailed that plan, and he finishing the season having pitched just one inning at the end of September.
“It gave me some comfort,” Walker said. “It boosted my spirits and stuff, too, knowing, ‘OK, I got the inning and I walked off healthy and I felt good,’ and just going into the offseason knowing that my arm is healthy and I don’t have to worry about it, and I can just have a normal offseason again.”
Following the injuries, Walker has adjusted his pitching motion, shortening up what in the past was a pronounced delivery.
“My arm motion was pretty long, and when I hurt my shoulder coming back from TJ, we just kind of decided to try to shorten it up and see what it felt like, and see how it moved,” he said. “It felt really comfortable right from the start, and it took me about a week to get it down, and after that it just kind of felt effortless. I felt normal, so we just stuck with it and kept going.”
Walker has lost some of his velocity working back from his surgery and subsequent shoulder injury — his fastball was clocked between 85-88 mph working out in front of scouts earlier this month — but the Mariners, who signed Walker to a one-year, $2 million contract Wednesday with the possibility of Walker making up to $3 million with incentives, clearly believe Walker can be built back up.
His arm feels, “100 percent,” he said, and at this point he’s focused on being smart about his continued work on the mound. Walker said he feels ready enough to pitch in games now, but is working with the Mariners to come up with a well-crafted plan for his return.
And the familiarity with the club and its staff is a big reason why Walker opted to return to his former club over other offers.
“That was the biggest decision — just being comfortable,” Walker said. “I haven’t pitched in two years, so I wanted somewhere where I can come in and kind of take my time. I don’t have to rush, and don’t have to really go out and prove anything in spring training — just kind of get a good game plan and take it easy through spring.”
It appears Walker will slot into Seattle’s starting rotation — joining Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi, Justus Sheffield and Kendall Graveman — but Servais said the Mariners will be careful with Walker’s development during spring camp.
“You can see the maturity and kind of where he’s at, and listening to him, where he wants to get to, and we’re going to do everything we can to help him there,” Servais said. “I think we will build him in spring training. We’ll be cautious.
“He’s probably not the same level as some of our other guys are — he’s coming back off injury. He has been throwing bullpens, he feels good, but we’re not going to pedal to the metal run him out there as fast as we can. But, he’s ready to go. We’ll build him up, get him stretched out.
“Excited to have him back. He’s happy to be back.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Taijuan Walker, now fully healthy, ready for comeback season with Mariners."
