New addition Neil Walker was at Citi Field this afternoon, where the New York Mets held their annual Kids Holiday Party. He will wear uniform No. 20 for the Mets this season to honor his father, former big leaguer Tom Walker. The number was retired in Pittsburgh for hall of famer Pie Traynor.
Walker, 29, is excited to join the Mets just as everything has started to come together for the team after a long rebuild, and he’s looking forward to playing defense behind the young rotation.
“It was similar to what was going on in Pittsburgh the last few years,” he explained. “There is nobody that has better pitching than this staff and, the mix of veterans and young guys and guys in between is something that’s very valuable.”
Manager Terry Collins was happy when he heard the Mets had traded for Walker. “Neil Walker is a pro. He’s a big addition to us. He’s a quality player. He knows how to win and has been on winning teams.”
Walker batted .269 (146-543) with 32 doubles, 16 home runs and 71 RBI in 151 games for Pittsburgh in 2015. His 16 home runs were tied for most by a National League second baseman while his .328 on-base percentage was tied for third-best among NL second basemen.
In 2014, he earned his first Louisville Silver Slugger award after hitting a career-high 23 home runs and ranking first among NL second basemen in home runs, slugging percentage (.467) and OPS (.809).
Defensively, Walker will be a significant and very noticeable upgrade from Daniel Murphy. He owned a .989 fielding percentage at second base in 2015, fifth-best in the NL. And in 2014, Walker had the second-best fielding percentage (.992) for a National League second baseman.
I really love this addition… Was very big on Walker when the Mets were pursuing Zobrist.
Team Notes:
Terry Collins applauded the additions of Walker and Asdrubal Cabrera, but would like to see the Mets add another bat.
Wilmer Flores could be the primary backup to Lucas Duda at first base, the manager also said.
Collins is not worried about innings limits next year and expects all his starting pitchers to pitch as deep into the season as needed. Zack Wheeler is the exception.
