Taylor

Walls

Walls has been out since the end of spring training with an oblique strain, but he will come right back to the starting shortstop job in Tampa Bay. However, he should be avoided in fantasy leagues.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters that Walls was “feeling great” after the contest. The 29-year-old was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain just before the season, and is expected to return — assuming no setbacks — near the end of April.

Walls isn’t expected back for at least 3-4 weeks, which provides top prospect Carson Williams with a couple weeks worth of at-bats to prove he should stick at the highest level. Walls is a strong defender at shortstop but hasn’t shown enough from an offensive standpoint to be considered a long-term solution at the spot.

That makes it seem likely that we won’t see Walls with the Rays until sometime in early May. That should give Carson Williams a chance to cement himself as the team’s shortstop for 2026, but considering they had sent him to Triple-A earlier in the week, fantasy managers may want to take a wait-and-see approach here.

It’s possible that this is a re-aggravation of Walls’ initial oblique injury early in Spring Training. Carson Williams is taking Walls’ spot in the lineup today and is a plausible fill-in to start the season if the Rays don’t “consider outside options” per Topkin. Williams hit .172/.219/.354 in his 106 at-bat cup of coffee in the 2025 season and, should he be the Opening Day starter, is probably only a consideration in AL-only leagues despite his top prospect status.

Williams and Melton are viewed as long-term building blocks up the middle for Tampa Bay. The pair of top prospects will open the season back in the upper minors with veterans Taylor Walls and Cedric Mullins starting at shortstop and center field, respectively. Williams is a phenomenal defender but his power/speed combo is muted somewhat by persistent contact issues that have followed him throughout his ascent. Melton came over from the Astros as part of the Brandon Lowe three-team deal in the offseason and shouldn’t have to wait too long for an everyday opportunity with the Rays.

Walls had been sidelined with an oblique injury, but you certainly couldn’t tell in this one. His home run off Konnor Pilkington was 106 mph off the bat and traveled almost 400 feet. The Rays love Walls’ defense, so he will always be a threat to steal playing time away from your favorite fantasy player.

Walls was scratched from the lineup on Sunday with oblique tightness, but it doesn’t appear to be a major issue. Cash said that he hopes to have Walls back in the lineup by the end of the week. While Walls is not a fantasy-friendly player, the Rays love his defense, which always makes him a threat to steal at-bats from guys like Carson Williams.

The Rays are calling it nothing more than a precautionary measure. At this stage of the spring there’s no reason to push anyone who is feeling any sort of issue, so the Rays will back off of him for a couple of days. He still has plenty of time to get right before the start of the regular season.

Walls, who will be eligible for free agency for the first time after 2027, made $1.4 million last season in his first year of arbitration and wound up hitting .220/.280/.319 in 317 plate appearances. The Rays will probably treat him as a utilityman next season, though he’ll provide protection if Carson Williams needs some additional minor league time.