Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY SportsMets starting pitcher Taijuan Walker has began to publicly talk about his interest in signing a long-term deal with the organization. For someone who has played on four teams in the last four years, the 29-year-old would like to settle in and stay in one city for a much longer period of the time.
“It would be nice to do a longer-term deal and kind of just be set up in one place and know that I’m going to be here for a couple years,” Walker said. “Maybe have my family settle in a little bit. That would be nice.”
From an organizational perspective, bringing Walker back following the end of the year would make a lot of sense. Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco (has a $14 million option for 2023), and Walker are all set to hit free agency this winter. That leaves David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Max Scherzer, creating a hole in the starting rotation.
Walker is proving that his excellent first half in 2021 should not be considered a fluke. The right-hander has stepped up in the absence of Scherzer and deGrom in particular, pitching to a 2.86 ERA in 78 2/3 innings. Walker is in a position to potentially make the All-Star team for the second consecutive season.
Yes, the former first-round draft pick did pitch to a 7.13 ERA in 13 starts during the second half of last season, but a lot of factors went into those struggles. Prior to 2021, Walker had only thrown 150 innings twice in his career, with the last instance coming back in 2017 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Once deGrom went down for the season, he was also placed in a position to shoulder a bigger load in the rotation.
Taijuan Walker expressing interest in signing a long-term deal with the Mets should not come as a surprise. He has not only developed into a really good pitcher, but has become an influential voice inside the clubhouse. Walker and the Mets continuing their relationship is certainly on the cards moving forward.
