Jordan HammNATIONAL HARBOR, Md. –
The Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping they found a young arm to pair with Zack Greinke in the rotation in Taijuan Walker. The pitcher, along with shortstop Ketel Marte, came over from Seattle in exchange for middle infielder Jean Segura, outfielder Mitch Haniger and pitcher Zac Curtis.
It seems the Diamondbacks are selling high on Segura, who had an National League leading 203 hits in 2016. They are also buying low on Walker, who in 2013 was the #4 prospect in baseball, and Marte, who was a promising shortstop and table setter in the batting order entering the 2016 season. After an inconsistent year last year for both players, they find themselves in the desert.
Walker has always been on the Diamondbacks radar. There were reports he would headline the package the Mariners were trying to send to Arizona for Justin Upton before he was traded to Atlanta. Upton reportedly used his no-trade clause to nix the deal.
A’s manager Bob Melvin and Angels manager Mike Scioscia shared their thoughts on what type of pitcher Walker is and could be down the line. If the young pitcher is able to develop into what these AL West managers think he can be, the D-Backs rotation just got a lot deeper and a lot harder to hit.
