Toronto Blue Jays acquire Taijuan Walker from the Seattle Mariners

The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired Taijuan Walker form the Seattle Mariners.

This season, RHP Taijuan Walker has demonstrated somewhat of a resurgence for the Seattle Mariners after missing much of 2018 and 2019. With his name floating around in trade rumors over the last few days, the currently playoff-contending Toronto Blue Jays have decided to take a chance on Walker.

First reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, in Walker, the Jays receive a  28-year-old native of Louisiana with a 5-pitch arsenal. His most prominent pitch this season, a four-seamer that travels at approximately 93 MPH, according to Baseball Savant.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Though statistically, Walker’s numbers don’t seem quite as enticing – he currently sports a 2-2 record with a 4.00 ERA – he does feature a 1.074 WHIP and is striking out batters at a rate of 8.3/9-innings.

Walker joins a pitching staff that ranks 10th in fWAR (3.5) and features the likes of Hyun Jin Ryu, who finished 2nd in the NL Cy Young voting in 2019 behind Jacob deGrom.

Now, the specifics of the deal are not exactly clear yet, but according to Sportsnet, the trade is for a player to be named later. Generally speaking, the player in question will likely be a Jays prospect not named Nate Pearson.

A couple of top 100 prospects within the Jays system that might be possible could be SS/3B Jordan Groshans or RHP Simeon Woods Richardson. Toronto will likely try a lesser-known player though.

Just last week, the Blue Jays were outside of playoff contention and likely not even considering making a deal for a legitimate pitcher. Over the last 10 days, however, the team has won 7 games, catapulting them onto the 8th seed in the AL.

This move is to ensure that the team continues to contend throughout the rest of the season. Let’s see if it ultimately pans out.