Mets righty Taijuan Walker will make a rehab start in Extended Spring Training on Wednesday and then will join the team in Arizona this weekend, where they will determine whether or not he needs another rehab outing before coming off the injured list.
Walker went on the IL last Tuesday after leaving his start a night earlier following the second inning. He was diagnosed with right shoulder bursitis, but played long toss Friday and threw a bullpen on Sunday that encouraged the Mets to send him out for rehab.
Manager Buck Showalter initially said Sunday the team wasn't sure if it would be one or two rehab starts, and Walker noted that he should be good for four innings or 60 pitches in his first outing, and was hopeful that the next progression – five innings of 75 pitches – would be enough to make him an option to return to the rotation.
While Walker could be back as early as next week, the Mets do have a TBD in their rotation, as Monday's postponement turning into a doubleheader on Tuesday leaves the team needing a starter for Saturday.
Showalter said it's "too early to commit" to a name for that TBD, choosing to see how the Mets need to deploy their relief corps over the next few days to see if a bullpen day (perhaps led by Trevor Williams) is a possibility, or if the team will have to dip into the Minors for a spot starter.
Beyond that, with both Tylor Megill and Max Scherzer scheduled to pitch in Tuesday's doubleheader and thus on turn to Sunday, one will end up with an extra day's rest for their next start – and Showalter declined to say which one would start Sunday and which one would be pushed to Monday, but did say he wants to keep the rotation on schedule as much as possible.
Showalter and the Mets could have used the 29th man for Game 2 to bring up a spot starter for one of Tuesday's games and keep the rotation on schedule, but the team appears to be keeping outfielder Nick Plummer – who was technically optioned to Triple-A when Brandon Nimmo was activated from the COVID IL before Tuesday's doubleheader – in that spot.
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