Taijuan Walker responded “really well” from his workout on Sunday, and he will start Tuesday’s Subway Series finale weather permitting for the Mets, robbing Yankee Stadium of back-to-back days of Yankees aces.
“He responded well from yesterday, and if weather cooperates, he will start for us tomorrow,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “A lot of factors figured into that, but the primary reason is that we don’t wait Tai to get too far away from pitching, and lose some of the arm strength and things you might lose if you get too far away from it.
Showalter also noted “some roster things” GM Billy Eppler is going through, which may not affect Walker, but could affect the Mets’ taxed bullpen. For instance, Connor Grey, who has made 21 starts for Triple-A Syracuse, hasn’t been activated but is with the team as a possible option to soak up some innings this week, possibly if Walker has another short start.
So, instead of an ace one-two punch in the Bronx, deGrom and Chris Bassitt will start Thursday and Friday in some combination - likely deGrom first - in the first two games of the Rockies series. That means each will pitch on at least six days’ rest, given that deGrom started Thursday and Bassitt Friday last week, which is long enough for Showalter.
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“As far as Tai and Jake, I talked to them, talked to Chris Bassitt…there’s a fine line about getting too much time off also,” Showalter said. "Keep in mind that we're trying to be careful (with deGrom) and the priority is with Tai, so we don't thing it's a bad thing for where Jake and Bass are to give everyone a little blow. We want to try to stay ahead of it because we have 39 games left and we're trying to keep everybody healthy.”
Scherzer is on regular rest, while Walker will be on close to a week after leaving last Tuesday’s start with back issues – an exit that forced the Mets to call up Jose Butto to start Sunday against Philly – and after a weekend that saw Trevor Williams and 27th man David Peterson start Saturday’s games ahead of Butto, Showalter praised what Eppler has done to keep the Mets’ staff afloat during a tumultuous week that saw eight different hurlers cycled in and/or out of uniform.
“The job our front office has done with the staff, especially in the last few days to make sure we’re covered and not putting our bullpen in harm’s way, has been proud to watch,” Showalter said. “It’s been a challenge, but the imagination and thought process to stay ahead of the curve…it’s hard in today’s game with weather and doubleheaders. You pay the price for that, it affects a lot of things.”
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