Rays' Taylor Walls: Productive series against Mets
Rotowire
Walls went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Sunday against the Mets.
Walls lost playing time at shortstop for roughly a two-week stretch from May 21 to June 4. However, he's been in the lineup for eight of Tampa Bay's last 10 games and gone 10-for-27 with six runs scored, eight RBI and one stolen base in that stretch. Walls started two of three games in the team's weekend series against the Mets and scored three runs with two RBI.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: On bench Friday
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Walls is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets.
Walls had started five consecutive games at shortstop but will yield to Jose Caballero at the position Friday for the second time in three games. Walls is 8-for-24 (.333) with six RBI and three runs scored in June.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Taking back shortstop gig
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Walls will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Red Sox.
Walls appears to have taken back primary duties at shortstop away from Jose Caballero, who is on the bench against a righty for the second time in three contests and who has also made two of his previous three starts in the outfield. Meanwhile, Walls will be occupying shortstop for the sixth time in seven games, with his hot run at the plate giving Rays manager Kevin Cash some extra incentive to keep his bat in the lineup. Walls has opened June by going 7-for-20 with a home run, two doubles, two walks, a stolen base and six RBI in seven contests. His stint at the top of the depth chart could be brief however, with Ha-Seong Kim (shoulder) closing in on his activation from the injured list.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Absent from Saturday's lineup
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Walls is not in the Rays' starting lineup against the Astros on Saturday, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Walls will begin Saturday's contest on the bench while Jose Caballero starts at shortstop and bats in the leadoff spot. Walls has slashed .228/.313/.263 with three steals and four RBI in 67 plate appearances since the beginning of May.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Back in action Sunday
Rotowire
Walls (groin) will start at shortstop and bat seventh Sunday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Walls sat out the previous three games due to groin soreness but is back in the lineup for Sunday's series finale. The 28-year-old has a .501 OPS through 45 games this season and is in the midst of a 2-for-25 slump.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Still out of lineup
Rotowire
Walls (groin) is not in the Rays' starting lineup against the Blue Jays on Saturday.
Walls will be out of the starting lineup for a third straight game due to groin soreness, though he did enter Friday's game as a pinch runner. Jose Caballero will start at shortstop and bat sixth in Saturday's contest.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Scratched due to groin injury
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Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Walls was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros due to groin soreness, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Cash is hopeful that Walls will be available to play following a scheduled off day Thursday. Jose Caballero will take Walls' spot at shortstop Wednesday, with Curtis Mead entering the lineup at third base.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Retreating to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Walls is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Though he'll be on the bench Wednesday, Walls appears to have taken back primary shortstop duties from Jose Caballero. Walls had started in each of the Rays' previous nine games and provided a rare impact at the dish during that stretch, slashing .310/.400/.379 with two doubles, five walks, one steal, five runs and three RBI.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Chips in offensively
Rotowire
Walls went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and was caught stealing in Thursday's game against the Phillies.
Walls started his fifth straight game at shortstop and has gone 7-for-17 at the plate in that span. He also has four runs scored in that stretch, while raising his average to .205. As the latter number indicates, Walls is a light hitter, limiting his fantasy appeal even if he continues to get consistent at-bats.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Playing time trending up
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Walls will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Phillies, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Walls will make his fourth straight start, with the Rays going up against two lefties and two righties during that span. The defensive-minded Walls owns a measly .504 OPS on the season and appeared to have fallen behind Jose Caballero on the depth chart at shortstop, but a surprise 4-for-5 performance in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Yankees might have enabled Walls to regain some job security.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Productive across weekend series
Rotowire
Walls went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored Sunday against the Yankees.
Walls has lost playing time to Jose Caballero since April 19, but he started two of three games against the Yankees over the weekend. He combined to go 4-for-7 with an RBI and two runs scored, though he's still hitting only .192 for the season across 192 plate appearances.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Fading into part-time role
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Walls is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Though the Rays have valued Walls' dependable glove at shortstop over the last few seasons, he's routinely struggled to make much of an impact at the plate. Walls has taken another step back with the bat so far in 2025, slashing just .155/.247/.197 with one extra-base hit (a home run) and a 24.7 percent strikeout rate across 81 plate appearances. While the Rays probably won't phase Walls out entirely, he seems to have moved into more of a part-time role of late, as he'll hit the bench for the fifth time in the last eight games. Jose Caballero may have overtaken Walls as manager Kevin Cash's preferred option at shortstop.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Homers in win
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Walls went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Padres.
Walls got the Rays on the board with a solo home run to center field. It was his first home run and first extra-base hit of the season. He's now driven in a run in consecutive games but is hitting just .164/.260/.209 with six RBI, nine runs scored and a 9:19 BB:K in 77 plate appearances.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Resting Wednesday
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Walls isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Arizona, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Walls has gone 0-for-9 over his last three games and will now grab a seat on the bench while Jose Caballero picks up a start at shortstop and bats ninth.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Heading to bench Thursday
Rotowire
Walls is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.
Walls will get a breather for the day game after he started in each of the Rays' last three contests. Jose Caballero will pick up the start at shortstop in place of Walls, who has produced a .143/.273/.143 slash line with three stolen bases, two runs and one RBI over 33 plate appearances.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Battling quad injury
Rotowire
Walls left Saturday's Grapefruit League game with a quad injury, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The injury is expected to be minor, as Walls is projected to return to the lineup Thursday. He had a solid spring prior to being sidelined, collecting five hits across 16 at-bats -- albeit with only one extra-base hit. Walls is slated to begin the season as the Rays' starting shortstop with Ha-Seong Kim (shoulder) sidelined.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Idle Friday
Rotowire
Walls is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox.
Walls will yield to Jose Caballero at shortstop for the second time in three games. In September, Walls is 12-for-50 (.240) with five stolen bases, eight runs and seven RBI.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Heading back to bench Wednesday
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Walls is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.
Walls will hit the bench after a stretch of three consecutive starts and five starts in the past six games. The infielder has produced a weak .546 OPS in September, but that mark is actually an improvement over his season-long OPS of .519. He continues to see semi-regular playing time largely because of his defensive work.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Out of Sunday's lineup
Rotowire
Walls is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.
Walls started Friday and Saturday and will sit for Sunday's series finale after going 1-for-7 with three strikeouts. Jose Caballero is starting at shortstop and batting seventh.
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Rays' Taylor Walls: Getting sixth straight start
Rotowire
Walls will start at shortstop and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Phillies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Walls will pick up his sixth consecutive start at shortstop and may have at least temporarily reclaimed a near-everyday role from Jose Caballero. The Rays will have room in the middle infield for both players while Brandon Lowe (finger) is on the bench Monday for a fourth straight game, but Walls has made a case for continuing to see regular playing time once Lowe returns. Over his last five starts, Walls has gone 5-for-15 with a home run, three walks, five RBI, four runs and two stolen bases.
