The New York Mets have turned their campaign around and are firmly in playoff contention as just a few days before the trade deadline; the blue and orange sit at 55-48 and in the top wild-card spot.
With the Mets back in playoff contention, president of baseball operations David Stearns has been making plenty of moves to upgrade the squad’s apparent weakness: the bullpen.
On Friday, the blue and orange made a move to do just that by trading for Ryne Stanek. However, to make room for the flamethrower, the Mets designated a fringe bullpen arm for assignment in order to make room for the flamethrower.
The Mets have designated Josh Walker for assignment
According to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, the Mets have designated relief pitcher Josh Walker for assignment.
After being a 37th-round selection in the 2017 MLB draft, Walker worked his way up the Mets minor league system before debuting in 2023. The New York native struggled in his rookie campaign, pitching 10 innings across 14 appearances to an 8.10 ERA with a 1.800 WHIP and 12 strikeouts.
Walker has been an up-and-down piece in 2024 for the Mets. The left-hander improved on his 2023 performance at the big league level, pitching 12.1 innings across 10 appearances to a 5.11 ERA with a 1.541 WHIP while striking out 11.
However, the 29-year-old has fared much better pitching for Triple-A Syracuse, where he has pitched 28.2 innings across 25 appearances to a 2.83 ERA with a 1.291 WHIP and 39 strikeouts.
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What does this mean for the Mets?
The Mets have until Tuesday’s trade deadline to trade Walker before being forced to place the New York native on waivers. The 29-year-old is likely to get claimed if placed on waivers as he is in his second minor league option year, meaning a team could keep him Triple-A as long as Walker remained on the 40-man roster.
If Walker were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would be outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse as he doesn’t have enough service time to elect free agency. However, that does feel unlikely, with many teams desperate for left-handed reliever help and that being limited on the trade market.
Time will tell where Walker ends up, but all signs point to his Mets tenure concluding.
