Diamondbacks Non-Tender Injury Plagued Steven Souza Jr and Taijuan Walker
By Mark Powell
The Diamondbacks have opted to non-tender two arbitration-eligible players in Steven Souza Jr and Taijuan Walker, both of whom have struggled with injuries throughout their Arizona tenures.
Souza, for one, was expected to play a major role in the D'Backs outfield, but logged only 72 games in two seasons in Arizona. Last March, he tore his left ACL, LCL, posterior lateral capsule and partially tore his left PCL as well, and is still recovering from said injuries. Considering he's due over $4 million, the Diamondbacks are cutting ties.
D-Backs non tendered Souza, Joseph snd Taijuan Walker. Jake Lamb is tendered a contract.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 3, 2019
Taijuan Walker is a similar story, although the righty was able to come back towards the end of last season, contributing to a five-game winning streak to end their campaign at an 85-77 mark. Walker expressed enthusiasm at how his season ended, and provided a small glimmer of hope for an Arizona rotation that had just dealt Zack Greinke.
Yet, the D'Backs decision to cut Walker is a curious one for now. However, he could come back at a lower contract than he would've received via arbitration.
I'd love to see the Tigers give Taijuan Walker a shot. He's still just 27. This is the kind of pickup a rebuilding team should make, IMO.
— Paul Sporer (@sporer) December 3, 2019
Walker could get a shot with several teams on a minor-league deal which could include a spring training invite. He's the classic flyer, still just 27, who could revive his career and become midseason trade bait.