Taylor Walls DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls (quadriceps) is dealing with a minor quad injury. The infielder exited Saturday's contest early due to this injury. However, the team noted that this injury is not considered serious and expects Walls to return to the lineup later this week. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status in case he faces a setback. Walls is expected to have a more significant role in the lineup over the first two months with Ha-Seong Kim (shoulder) sidelined. He will likely compete alongside Jose Caballero for starting opportunities. Last summer, the 28-year-old appeared in 84 contests for Tampa Bay and posted a .183/.282/.248 line. He swiped 16 bags and drew walks at an elite 12.3 percent rate. However, he generated a weak .184 xBA. Fantasy managers should only target Walls when looking for speed in deeper AL-only formats.

The Tampa Bay Rays and infielder Taylor Walls avoided salary arbitration on Wednesday by agreeing to a one-year, $1.35 million deal. The contract includes a $2.45 million option for the 2026 season with a $50,000 buyout. The 28-year-old middle infield will return to Tampa this year to provide infield insurance for the Rays. His glove is the most attractive thing about him, leaving very little fantasy upside for those in deep AL-only leagues in 2025. The former third-round selection in 2017 out of Florida State hit just .183/.282/.248 with a career-worst .529 OPS, one home run, 14 RBI, 16 stolen bases and 27 runs scored in 84 games in his fourth major-league season in 2024. In his four big-league campaigns, Walls has slashed a mere .188/.288/.293 with 18 home runs, 98 RBI and 52 stolen bases in 379 career games. If he's forced into regular playing time, the Rays will be in trouble.

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls (hip), who was moved to the 60-day injured list on April 20 after having right-hip surgery in the offseason, began a minor-league rehab assignment with the Rookie-level Florida Complex League on May 21 and went 2-for-17 with a homer, two walks and two strikeouts while playing five games at shortstop. He then joined Triple-A Durham on May 30 and went 2-for-6 with two doubles and played all nine innings at the 6. Manager Kevin Cash said that Walls felt "the best he's felt in a long time, so really encouraged by that." Walls said on Feb. 13 that he had been dealing with a "noticeable hip impingement" for more than a year, and it reached the point in the playoffs where he could barely swing a bat. When he's healthy enough to return, Walls will give the Rays another option at shortstop.