Taijuan Walker has officially been placed on the 10-day IL with left side tightness, as Mets manager Luis Rojas announced would be the case during his pregame news conference on Wednesday.
When announcing the Walker move, which is retroactive to May 18, the Mets also called up outfielder Cameron Maybin, who was acquired by the Mets on Tuesday in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, from Triple-A Syracuse. Additionally, RHP Sam McWilliams and LHP Stephen Tarpley have been placed on the IL, though their injuries were not specified.
“Walker is going to go on the IL,” Rojas said. “We’re taking a similar approach as we did Jake [deGrom], just to look at video and break it down. Talk to him and see what’s causing it because he feels good but it’s developing throughout the outing. So something that doesn’t cause this to be a more serious thing and it can take it to another road, so we’d rather go this road and be safe with him and pay attention to his mechanics and what he’s doing.”
Walker exited his last start — Monday vs. the Atlanta Braves — after just three innings of work, due to a recurring tightness in his left side.
An MRI on his side came back “clean,” Rojas said on Tuesday, but the Mets are still going to be cautious with this latest injury development.
“He feels good. It’s just when he goes there and he’s pitching and he repeat — it’s happened a few times. It doesn’t get to the point where he’s sore. It gets to the point where he’s tight.” Rojas said. “So that’s what they’re going to try to figure out: What is it that he’s doing that causes this. That’s why we’re taking the IL approach to prevent anything major from happening.”
Walker is 3-1 with a 2.05 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 44.0 innings this season, and has been among the highlights in this Mets rotation.
The Mets will also recall RHP Yennsy Diaz from Syracuse, but he’ll be headed to the taxi squad for the moment, Rojas said.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].