According to Andy Martino of SNY, the Mets have signed free agent starter Taijuan Walker. Our own Michael Mayer tweeted earlier this week that the Mets had been in contact with Walker’s camp.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the deal is for two years, $20 million with a player option for a third year. Here’s the breakdown of the deal per Sherman:
$10M in 2021
$7M in 2022
2023 player option that starts at $6M with escalators can get to $8.5M or $3M buyout on the player option.
Walker, 28, is one of the top starting pitchers on the free agent market.
Last season, he posted a fWAR of 0.6, a K/9 of 8.44, and a BB/9 of 3.21. Walker only pitched in 53 innings, and went 4-3 over 11 starts with an ERA of 2.70. He had a 1.37 ERA in six starts down the stretch for the Blue Jays after being acquired from the Mariners.
For his career, Walker has posted a line of 35-34 and an ERA of 3.84. His best season came back in 2017 with the Diamondbacks when the righty posted a 2.5 fWAR through 28 starts.
