No matter how big of a splash the Mets make in the starting pitching market before Friday’s trade deadline, getting one of their own back on track will be just as important over the final two months of the season.
Taijuan Walker was in the midst of a breakout season when he went to the All-Star Game with a 2.50 ERA across his first 16 starts. In his two starts since, his ERA has ballooned nearly a full run while giving up 11 earned runs over 4 ¹/₃ innings against the Pirates and Blue Jays.
Thursday, the right-hander will get a chance to correct course when he takes the mound as the Mets finish a key series against the Braves at Citi Field.
“They’ve been working on different things with him, [including] the carry of his fastball, which was I think one of the best things he’s had this season,” manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday. “To have that four-seam play up in the zone and have a different look for all the things he does below or south in the strike zone, he needs that fastball and I don’t think he’s had it consistently in the last two starts.”
Walker’s bump in the road has come at a time when the Mets have been short on solid starting pitching, with Jacob deGrom joining David Peterson on the injured list soon after the All-Star break. Carlos Carrasco’s imminent Mets debut on Friday and Rich Hill’s arrival in a trade has helped shore up the rotation, but having Walker rediscover his groove from the first half of the season figure to be just as crucial to the club’s efforts to remain atop the NL East.
The post-All-Star break slump began in horrific fashion against the Pirates on July 18, when Walker didn’t make it out of the first inning. The outing was sunk by his memorable fielding error on a fair swinging bunt that he thought was foul.
Walker then threw four innings Saturday against the Blue Jays, but got tagged for three home runs — he had allowed just six on the season coming into the start — and only struck out one batter.
Rojas said he saw glimpses of Walker’s fastball carrying better in a scoreless first inning against the Blue Jays, but he couldn’t maintain it.
“I know they showed him the numbers and they’re watching mechanics,” Rojas said. “They use a lot of the slow-motion cameras, just to see the release points and the grips and exactly what was happening. I know he’s translating some of that to his side session. We’ll see if he can translate it to the game — I know he can. This guy’s a veteran, he’s got a feel for it. I’m sure now, since the information has been given to him, he can make the adjustment tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the Mets will continue to monitor Walker’s workload throughout the rest of the season. The 28-year-old has already thrown 94 ¹/₃ innings — a mark he hadn’t reached since 2017. From 2018-20, he threw just 67 ¹/₃ innings because of Tommy John surgery and a pandemic-shortened season.
With Carrasco’s return on Friday, the Mets will have five healthy starters with deGrom potentially back in August, plus whatever they add before the trade deadline. Further depth could allow the Mets to be cautious with Walker down the stretch, though Rojas said they don’t have any numbers in mind as limits for him.
“It’s really tough to guess — that’s the word to use here, because I think a lot of people in the league are on the same boat with guys not reaching that number of innings they’re used to reaching in a normal season,” Rojas said. “Especially in Taijuan’s case. … We’re just going start to start, seeing how he feels and talking to the pitcher. … He has a good feel of what he’s doing and how he’s feeling out there.”