Taijuan Walker was a last-resort type of signing for the New York Mets. Long focused on landing star pitcher Trevor Bauer, he was sort of a plan B when the ace, currently out for legal reasons and a pending investigation, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
But the 29-year-old Walker was a good pitcher for the Mets in 2021, even if his performance dipped considerably in the second half. His 7-11 record and 4.47 ERA (as of Thursday afternoon) are a bit misleading: he was an All-Star selection (and deservedly so), and had a solid 1.