Player Data: 30 (8/13/1992),

Primary Statistics: 29 GS, 12-5, 157 1/3 IP, 3.49 ERA, 132 K, 45 BB, 1.195 WHIP

Advanced Stats: 3.65 FIP, 111 ERA+, 2.6 WAR, 8.2 H/9, 0.9 HR/9, 7.6 SO/9, 2.6 BB/9

2022 Salary: $7 million

Grade: B-

2022 Review

Coming into the 2022 season, the Mets did not know what they had in Taijuan Walker.

In the first half of 2021 with the Mets, Walker looked like the steal of the offseason. He went 7-3 and recorded a 2.66 ERA in 16 starts. Walker also made the all-star game for the first time in his career and made an appearance in the game. However, Walker had an atrocious second half and went 0-8 with an ERA of 7.13. After allowing only six home runs in the first half of 2021, Walker allowed 20 in 64 1/3 second-half innings. Although there were many contributing factors to the collapse of the Mets’ 2021 season, Walker’s bad second half was one of the causes.

Coming into the 2022 season, the Mets hoped that Walker would pitch to his first half numbers from the year prior. After sustaining an injury in his right shoulder in April, Walker came back and pitched like an All-Star. The right-hander went 7-2 in the first half of the season and pitched to a 2.55 ERA. Walker cemented his great first half in July, pitching to a 2.93 ERA and striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings.

Once the All-Star game was over and the Mets continued on their quest to win the NL East, Walker looked worn down by his first half innings. August, in particular, was an alarming month for Walker due to his poor performance and injury scare. Not only did Walker record a 6.98 ERA in August, but he also lost two pivotal games against the Braves. In those two starts, Walker combined to pitch three innings and allow eight earned runs.

With many concerned that Walker would replicate his 2021 season, the Mets starter was able to turn his performance around in September and October. For the two months combined, Walker went 4-2 and recorded a 3.63 ERA. More importantly, Walker got back to inducing soft contact and held batters to a .393 slugging percentage.

Similar to the 2021 season, Walker’s second half numbers were inflated. He finished with a 4.80 ERA and allowed 11 home runs in 65 2/3 innings pitched. However, the 2022 season was different due to Walker’s ability to halt his poor performance. Walker finished the year with a 12-5 record and a 3.49 ERA. Even with his blow up August, batters slashed .240/.299/.364 against Walker during the season.

The 2022 season was an overall improvement for Walker. He had a better first and second half from the year prior and started 29 games. The Mets also got great value from Walker due to his low salary and performance compared to higher paid starting pitchers. For reference, Gerrit Cole was paid 29 million more dollars than Walker, yet finished the year with an almost identical 3.50 ERA and 111 ERA+.

2023 Outlook

Walker has a player option to come back to the Mets in 2023. It’s a no-brainer that Walker will decline the $7.5 million player option and receive the $3 million buyout.

When Walker decides to hit free agency, the Mets should make an effort to re-sign Walker. The right-hander recorded back-to-back mostly healthy seasons and killed the narrative that he cannot stay healthy. While Walker is now on the wrong side of 30, he has thrown less than 1000 innings.

Walker has solidified himself as a healthy commodity and will likely look for a multi-year deal on the open market in the likely range that Jon Gray (four years, $56 million) received last offseason.