New York Mets' Taijuan Walker reveals change he made following shoulder injury

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New York Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker's season got off to a rough start as he sustained a shoulder injury after just two innings in his first start. Now, three weeks later after landing on the injured reserve for shoulder bursitis, Walker will return to the rotation when the Mets take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday.

“I’ve been itching,” Walker said on Friday, per The New York Post Sports. “I threw against our guys [in a simulated game on Monday] and the way my stuff’s coming out of my hand right now and the way my stuff is moving, it’s the best I’ve felt and I think the best my stuff has looked in a long time”.

Walker returns to his old mechanics, hopes for playing time

The Mets have been thriving without Walker, but the pitcher, who says his shoulder feels "brand new", is hoping to earn some playing time. “I want to be out there pitching and competing, but we got such a good staff,” said Walker, who made one rehab start in addition to the simulated game.

“It sucks, I feel bad, Peterson was throwing the crap out of the ball and he had to be sent down. Everyone who steps in has been pitching well. So having that depth is nice. We didn’t have that last year, so a lot of guys had to pitch through some nagging stuff that they could have taken a break [from].

But when we’re all healthy and everyone’s going good, it’s gonna be good. It’ll be good in the long run too”. Also, Walker revealed he tweaked his mechanics from what he showed in his first game of the year.

“I just went back to my old mechanics, simple,” Walker said. “Trying to just simplify everything, less movements, and I think that’s been really good and helpful for me to repeat everything”.