Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Updated post, 12/6/2022, 10:20 pm.
After signing Walker, the Phillies also signed right-handed reliever Matt Strahm, according to The Athletic‘s Ken Rosenthal.
Original post, 12/6/2022, 9:36 p.m.
Taijuan Walker is signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to FanSided‘s Robert Murray. ESPN‘s Jeff Passan reports that the deal is for four years and $72 million–an $18 million average annual value.
The deal comes a day after the Phillies gave $300 million to Trea Turner.
Walker, who rejected a $7.5 million player option earlier this off-season, became a free agent after the Mets declined to extend a $19.65 qualifying offer. The righty becomes the second pitcher to leave the Mets this offseason, joining Jacob deGrom, who signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Texas Rangers this past Friday.
Walker, who provided the Mets with a steady hand in the rotation over the past two seasons, went 12-5 in 29 starts with a 3.49 ERA, walking just 45 and striking out 132 in 157.1 innings with a 1.195 WHIP and 2.6 WAR in 2022. The 30-year-old carried a 2.66 ERA in the first half before having somewhat of a drop-off in the second half.
That was also an issue for Walker in 2021 as he represented the Mets in the 2021 All-Star Game following a superb first half in New York. Walker went 7-3 with a 2.50 ERA and 89 strikeouts over 90 innings in the first half of 2021, but his ERA would balloon to 4.47 as he struggled to finish out his first season in Queens.
The Mets will be seeing Walker, who will presumably be in the NL East for the next four seasons, quite often. He joins Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard as two other former Mets that have now defected to one of New York’s fiercest division foes. (Syndergaard is a free agent.)
With Walker’s departure, the Mets will focus on the likes of Chris Bassitt, Kodai Senga and Jameson Taillon to fill their third starter slot. They’ve also expressed interest in Ross Stripling and Nathan Eovaldi.
