Mariners' Walker expected to claim final rotation spot after Elias optioned
The Seattle Mariners have cleared a path for the Taijuan Walker era to begin. Now they just have to make it official.
Walker, long considered one of the best young pitching prospects in baseball, appears to have won himself the fifth spot in the Mariners' rotation after the club optioned left-hander Roenis Elias to the minors on Sunday in a series of roster moves.
The 22-year-old Walker has looked sharp this spring after missing more than two months of action last year with shoulder inflammation. Walker, who spent most of his time in Triple-A last season, has 19 strikeouts in 18 scoreless innings this month.
Despite all signs pointing to Walker joining the Mariners rotation, manager Lloyd McClendon wasn't prepared to make an announcement Sunday.
"Those things have not been talked about yet from an official standpoint," McClendon told reporters. "But Taijuan has thrown the ball extremely well."
Elias, 26, has struggled this spring, but his demotion is also a symptom of Seattle's deep rotation. With Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma, James Paxton and J.A. Happ already secured spots in the starting five, Elias needed to perform much better than his 6.75 ERA suggests he did.
"He hasn't pitched well this camp," McClendon said. "He needs to go down and get his innings. Get consistent. The one thing I impressed on him is I'm a big Elias fan."
Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez also remains a fringe candidate to win a spot in the rotation, but like Elias, has struggled this spring.