That the 28-year-old happened to be among the players who drove the Mariners’ decision to not play their game Wednesday versus the San Diego Padres “made me feel good about the person, about the addition and we already did feel very good,” said general manager Ross Atkins.
Walker, no stranger to injuries himself, is off to a strong start through five starts, posting a 1.074 WHIP over 27 innings with eighth walks versus 25 strikeouts. He’s twice gone seven innings in a start, something no Blue Jays starter has done even once so far, and features the type of repertoire that should allow him to do it more often, too.
Walker’s addition resolves one of the holes in the rotation and Atkins said he “would like to continue to add to our pitching and we’d like to continue to complement our offence.”