Reaction Roundup: Mets sign Taijuan Walker

The Mets have reportedly signed Taijuan Walker to a two-year deal worth $20 million. The organization made no secret about wanting to upgrade its pitching staff, and Walker is the finishing touch on a revamped rotation. The team brought back Marcus Stroman and traded for Carlos Carrasco, Joey Lucchesi, and Jordan Yamamoto. This final move is seen as overwhelmingly positive after a busy offseason.

• Marcus Stroman was the first to announce his excitement about the signing with eye emojis and tagging Walker on Twitter.
• At his press conference Jacob deGrom talked about the depth of the rotation and how he is excited to work with his new rotation-mates.
• This latest signing continued the Mets’ offseason of not landing the biggest fish but the fish with the biggest upside writes Joel Sherman.
• Walker was one of the best remaining free agents on the market, according to Tim Healey of Newsday.
• Justin Toscano from North Jersey compared the improved rotation to last year’s starters who routinely struggled.
• The Mets’ rotation now has major league quality depth and could be one of the deepest in all of baseball, writes the Daily News’s Deesha Thosar.
• Andy Martino thought the rotation was already good but the addition of Walker makes them even better.
• R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports thinks the righty could be a serviceable fourth starter.
• Mike Petriello of MLB.com tweeted some concerns he had about Walker’s underlying numbers, but again he is a big upgrade over what they have had in recent years in terms of depth.
• The Athletic’s Eno Sarris believes Walker’s increased slider usage could raise his ceiling some from the pitcher he was in the past.
• Lookout Landing was heartbroken Walker did not return to Seattle.