The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan reports that Diamondbacks starter Taijuan Walker has a “UCL injury,” according to manager Torey Lovullo. Walker is seeking a second opinion. Lovullo said, “This information came as a surprise to me. I thought he would be OK.”
Walker left Saturday’s start against the Dodgers after two innings with right forearm tightness. This latest news suggests me may be headed for Tommy John surgery. That’s quite an unfortunate series of events for the 25-year-old Walker and for the Diamondbacks.
Last season, Walker had his best full season, finishing with a 3.49 ERA and a 146/61 K/BB ratio in 157 1/3 innings. This season, he had limited the opposition to five runs on 15 hits and five walks with nine strikeouts in 13 innings.