Taijuan Walker Trade: Blue Jays Acquire RHP From Mariners

Image credit: Taijuan Walker (Abbie Parr/Getty)

With the Aug. 31 trade deadline just days away, the Blue Jays acquired righthander Taijuan Walker from the Mariners on Thursday to boost their rotation for the stretch run toward MLB’s expanded playoffs. In return, Seattle received either a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Entering Thursday, Toronto sat 1 1/2 games ahead of the Orioles for the eighth and final playoff spot in the American League and just 4 1/2 games back of the Rays in the AL East.

 

BLUE JAYS ACQUIRE



Taijuan Walker, RHP
Age: 28

The Blue Jays have lost both Matt Shoemaker (shoulder) and Nate Pearson (forearm) to injuries, leaving their rotation with just Hyun-Jin Ryu, Chase Anderson and Tanner Roark. Rookie righty Julian Merryweather took a turn in an opener-type role on Wednesday, but the rotation clearly needed patching. Enter Walker. The righthander, who signed with Seattle to a one-year, $2 million deal this past offseason, has gone 2-2. 4.00 with 25 strikeouts in 27 innings over five starts this season. Only Roark and Ryu have made as many as five starts this season for Toronto. Walker has gotten grounders at a rate of 36.8 percent this season, which is roughly in line with the rate over his career. That will be important especially with his new team playing games at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field, which so far has acted as a launching pad.

 

MARINERS ACQUIRE

Alberto Rodriguez, OF
Age: 19

Rodriguez ranked as the Blue Jays’ No. 24 prospect at midseason in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, where he ranked as the circuit’s No. 17 prospect. A $500,000 signee out of the Dominican Republic in 2017, Rodriguez uses a loose, quick swing to do his damage. He makes plenty of hard contact and should turn doubles (he hit 13 in 2019) into home runs as he matures and gains even more strength. He’s got the arm strength to stick in right field, and is a near-average runner as well.