Taijuan Walker leaves Mets’ game early with shoulder irritation

Taijuan Walker left his first 2022 start for the Mets after just two innings tonight in Philadelphia, and the team announced that he did so because he experienced right shoulder irritation.

Walker had offseason surgery on his knee, and he experienced soreness in the knee late in spring training, which put his status for the Opening Day roster in question. But the shoulder issue is a new one, and it would be disappointing to see Walker miss any time after he looked very, very good in his two innings of work against the Phillies.

Signed by the Mets to a two-year deal before the 2021 season, Walker was excellent in the first half of the season, earning himself an All-Star Game roster spot in the process. He struggled down the stretch, though, as he threw a total of 159.0 innings, his second-highest single-season total in his career and the most he had thrown in one season since 2015.