Taijuan Walker demoted by Seattle Mariners
By Hayden Kane
Having waited all season for the much-anticipated arrival of top prospect Taijuan Walker in the starting rotation, the Seattle Mariners demoted Walker back to Triple-A on Thursday.
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While this decision might seem odd at first, this move does not necessarily signal that anything is wrong in the eyes of the Mariners’ front office. It is just be a matter of maneuvering the schedule around the All-Star Break and maintaining Walker’s schedule in terms of his days off and so on.
Greg Johns of MLB.com notes that the move is likely a temporary one. Walker will reportedly make a couple starts in Tacoma and then return to Seattle’s rotation.
Taijuan Walker will likely make 2 starts for Tacoma, with the first on Saturday, then return to #Mariners for Mets series after break.
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) July 9, 2014
Nick Eaton of seattlepi.com explains the thinking behind this move, which also accounts for the team’s big divisional series this weekend.
"Yet there is a likely reason that makes good sense: Seattle wants Walker to keep pitching on his regular schedule through the upcoming All-Star break.And as a bonus, the Mariners are now in position to start their three best pitchers for this weekend’s big series against the division-leading Oakland Athletics."
It probably won’t be long until Walker is one of those top three pitchers, but for now he will give way and go down to Tacoma to stay on his regular schedule so that he can seamlessly join the rotation after the break.