Taylor

Walls

Kim is aiming for a mid-May return. Taylor Walls will serve as the Rays’ primary shortstop until then, with José Caballero backing him up.

The homer to left-center appeared to be a little wind-aided, but he’ll take it. He also had an RBI groundout today. The light-hitting Walls figures to spend the first two months as the Rays’ starting shortstop with Ha-Seong Kim on the injured list. José Caballero will back him up.

The Ha-Seong Kim signing put Walls on notice, but with Kim likely to miss the first two months, shortstop is up for grabs in Tampa Bay for now. José Caballero is the alternative there, but Walls has a nice advantage defensively. Of course, it’s the bat that’s the problem here; Walls hit .182/.282/.248 last season, and of everyone with 1,000 plate appearances the last four seasons, only catchers Austin Hedges and Martín Maldonado have worst OPS+s that Wade’s mark of 66.

The initial arbitration filings were $1.3 million from the Rays and $1.575 million from Walls, so this is closer to what Tampa Bay offered. However, this new deal comes with a $2.45 million club option for 2026 or a $50,000 buyout. That option can increase by $50,000 if Walls gets 450 plate appearances in 2025. While we would not expect Walls to get that many plate appearances, Tampa Bay does love his defense, so he should play multiple games a week at shortstop, which makes it harder to roster José Caballero in fantasy leagues. Walls himself should also not be rostered in fantasy leagues.

Walls had an excellent day at the plate, starting with a solo homer to lead off the third inning, his first home run of the season. He drove in a second run with a base hit in the sixth. Walls then reached for a third time with a walk to lead off the eighth, stole second, then scored on a single by Yandy Díaz. The 28-year-old shortstop is hitting just .178/.288/.244 with 23 runs scored and 13 steals across 212 plate appearances.

This was a paltry showing by the Rays’ offense against Ronel Blanco and Houston’s bullpen. They had just two hits, none went for extra-bases, and scored one run on a fielder’s choice. Similarly, Walls is having a horrific season with a .521 OPS across 49 games played.

Walls is now up to a robust .175/.277/.250 slash line since coming off the IL on June 7th. Still, the Rays continue to start him almost every game at shortstop due to his plus defense. Walls will likely never hit enough to be in fantasy lineups, but his presence in the Tampa Bay lineup will put a damper on the fantasy value of Brandon Lowe and Jose Caballero, who are splitting time at second base as a result.

Walls missed each of the team’s last three games while battling an illness, but he’s finally feeling well enough to return to action on Wednesday. The 27-year-old infielder will play shortstop and will bat eighth against Joe Ryan and the Twins on Wednesday evening in Minnesota.

Walls will sit out his third straight contest due to an ongoing illness, but we’re assuming he’ll be available off the bench in this one, if needed. The 27-year-old should be ready to roll in a couple days, if not sooner.

Caballero was out of the lineup for the last two days with illness, but the shortstop will miss a third straight game due to the calf injury. He is reportedly available off the bench, so consider him day-to-day. Amed Rosario gets the start at shortstop in his absence, as Taylor Walls is unavailable due to illness.