NEW YORK, NY – JULY 9: Taijuan Walker #99 of the New York Mets reacts walking off the field during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field on July 9, 2021 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
The New York Mets found out that they will be without starting pitcher Taijuan Walker due to injury.
The New York Mets’ series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies did not go as planned. Not only did they blow a 4-0 lead in the eighth inning to lose 5-4, but starting pitcher Taijuan Walker had to exit after two innings due to shoulder irritation. Now, Walker is going to miss some time.
On Tuesday, the Mets officially announced that Walker was being placed on the 10-day injured list due to right shoulder bursitis, meaning he could miss multiple starts.
After the news was revealed, Walker sent out a tweet to Mets fans to let them know that “everything is all good.”
Mets place Taijuan Walker on injured list due to right shoulder bursitis
This is the last thing that the Mets needed — an injury to one of their starting pitchers. Ace Jacob deGrom is set to miss a significant amount of time after he suffered a stress reaction in his right scapula (shoulder blade). And now Walker is going to miss some time.
Let’s not forget that the Mets did try to fill the void left by deGrom by exploring a trade with the San Diego Padres for Chris Paddack. But, the Mets ultimately decided to pass on a deal.
Walker pitched those two innings on Monday night, where he surrendered zero hits and struck out four batters.
Last season, Walker recorded a 4.47 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, 146 strikeouts and 55 walks over 159.0 innings (30 games, 29 starts).
It will be interesting to see how Mets manager Buck Showalter will handle the absence of Walker in the starting rotation.