Mariners notebook: The plan going forward for Taijuan Walker
Jul 27, 2016, 7:22 PM | Updated: Jul 28, 2016, 8:53 am
Sim game action. Sardinas facing Walker. pic.twitter.com/u56nST00pP
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) July 27, 2016
PITTSBURGH – Taijuan Walker, who is on the disabled list with right foot tendinitis, threw a three-inning simulated game Wednesday at PNC Park and all went well. He faced a hitter with Luis Sardinas taking all of the at-bats, mixed his pitches and was able to get off the mound well when fielding situations dictated he do so.
Walker did his best to ramp up his intensity to replicate the force he would put on his foot in a game that counted, and after three innings it appeared to pass the test.
“I could definitely see I was pushing off and getting after it,” he said, noting that he did not feel any pain. “It definitely gives me a lot of confidence that I can go out there and stop thinking about it. The last couple of days have been really good.”
In his starts after the original injury, Walker felt the pain in the tendon almost immediately when he took the hill. He feels optimistic that will not happen the next time he throws in a game. He will throw another bullpen on Friday, and if he checks out of that, he will progress to a rehab start shortly after, most likely with Triple-A Tacoma. Where he goes after that depends on how he performs.
“I want to make sure that everybody who sees him pitch feels really good about it,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s really important, and I expressed that to him yesterday. We have a big enough window left in our season he can certainly impact us. So we really need him healthy and ready to go.”
Notes
• Reliever Nick Vincent is getting closer to a return. He will throw a bullpen in Tacoma this weekend and then one or two more before making a rehab appearance.
• Reliever Drew Storen, who was acquired in a trade on Tuesday, arrived at PNC park about two hours before first pitch Wednesday and was on the field in the game about three hours after that, replacing James Paxton. Storen threw 1 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk.
• The Mariners have signed pitcher Dillon Moyer, Jamie Moyer’s oldest son, and assigned him to Class-A Everett. Moyer, 25, was a 38th-round pick out of UC San Diego by the Dodgers in the 2013 draft.