Chicago Cubs: Team showing interest in free-agent pitcher Taijuan Walker

The Chicago Cubs are showing interest in free-agent starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, who hasn’t pitched meaningful innings since 2017.

Last week, when I was researching several free-agent starting pitchers that the Chicago Cubs could add for competition in Spring Training, Taijuan Walker was a guy that initially intrigued me. A closer review of his numbers – just four starts in the last two years – ultimately turned me away from further consideration, but it would appear that the Cubs’ front office thinks otherwise.

They are at least one team that is holding a tryout for the 27-year-old. Walker was drafted in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners and was a consensus Top-50 prospect in baseball. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2016 season along with Ketel Marte that sent three players in return to Seattle, including Jean Segura.

The 2017 season would prove to a great year for Walker, who posted a 3.49 ERA in 28 starts while striking out 146 batters in 157.1 innings. He was struck with the injury bug early in the 2018 season and was ultimately shut down with a UCL injury in his throwing arm. He has been recovering from Tommy John Surgery and pitched for nearly two dozen teams earlier this month.

Walker was seen at the Cubs Spring Training facility on Monday with Tommy Hottovy and several other members of the team’s scouting department. Assuming a deal gets done, Walker is a minimal risk signing with some upside. As noted, he hasn’t pitched regular innings in over two seasons and would, no doubt, be a reclamation project.

That’s been the theme of the Cubs 2019 offseason, signing roughly 50 players to minor-league deals. Ok, that’s far-fetched, but it seems like it, right?

I don’t see a problem with the Cubs potentially bringing in Walker to compete for a spot. Many former starters have found success in a bullpen role, and something similar for Walker could be in the works.