Mariners call up Walker

[johnfree63]

I'm fairly certain we have him under club control through 2019, but I could be mistaken. Seattle could have pushed it out to 2020, but that would have meant he didn't make the roster out of Spring Training next year which I don't see happening.

He might not have made it out of spring training but they would have only needed to wait 2 weeks or so before calling him up to gain the extra year of control. That's kind of what they attempted to do with Hultzen but got burned by his injury.

 

[cezero]

Of course I'm glad to see Walker was very successful. A first start against the Astros was very wise, so I'll give the FO credit for that. He's here, for good or for ill.

I still don't know if I believe what I'm seeing from Ackley is real. I'm glad he's doing well, truly. If he continues this a month or two into next season, I'll quote my own posts where I intimated he would never amount to anything, and say how wrong I was.

 

[dude82]

No incompetent front offices make these kind of September call-ups. You don't see the Twins calling up Sano, or the Cubs call up Baez or the Astros calling up Springer or Singleton. You know why? Because they want the team control for another year. Right now calling up Walker means he'll be a free agent in 2019 instead 2020.

As I mentioned earlier, teams aren't waiting around to give their best young players extensions anymore and if Walker is as good as advertised for a couple of years, the Mariners will try to get a long-term deal done with him well before he even gets close to free agency. I know it's fun to pile on the Mariners front office these days, but this one is kind of a stretch. It's 2013 and you're worried about 2019/2020 when teams are signing their best young guys to long-term extensions earlier and earlier?

 

[AceKeptic]

I'm just glad Walker got the W in his debut. Way to go, TW!

 

[TheDman875]

Indeed, great 1st outing. In spite of our mixed opinions about his callup, it is what it is. The kid looked and performed like a pit bull out there even if it was Houston.

 

[dude82]

A lot of young pitchers would have imploded if their defense made a couple of misplays behind them in an inning, but he kept it together and limited the damage. That was nice to see. I was also impressed with Almonte's speed to beat out that double play attempt and his willingness to fire the ball in to first when a runner strays off the bag too far. He didn't get the out this time, but teams are going to pay attention to that going forward.

 

[wazzu31]

He might not have made it out of spring training but they would have only needed to wait 2 weeks or so before calling him up to gain the extra year of control. That's kind of what they attempted to do with Hultzen but got burned by his injury.

I hate Howard and Chuck like most fans but if there is a silver lining from this season is they are not going on the super cheap by calling guys like Walker and Zunino before they are "ready" and burning their team control.

 

[seattlefan75]

Man, there sure are alot of General Manager's on this forum. I had no idea there was such a shortage of GM positions in baseball that all the qualified ones would sit on "Sportshoopla.com" and second guess every decision made by their team.
I assume they brought him up so he could have that "experience" of his first big league game and get the jitters and nerves out when it means nothing. Then when spring training rolls around he is a bit more seasoned and not so shit scared nervous on opening day.
I highly doubt the organization is hurting him by letting him start against the Astros.

not to prove your point but i did fill out an application online on monster.com to be a candidate for the GM job when Jack gets fired

 

[seattlefan75]

but to answer the thread i was one of those people that didnt want to call up walker but this team is sooo dead and checked out of the season i guess theres no reason why not to cut the people you dont plan on resigning in the offseason and bring up some rookies

 

[wazzu31]

Also an out of left field thought, maybe the M's have finally decided to go against the myth of young pitchers needing to be on a pitch limit? Not really sure the rationale of saying a pitcher can only go so many innings yet it's ok for them to throw a 1/2 hour bullpen session every 3rd day to stay fresh.