Walker, who was slated to make his first Cactus League start Thursday against the Giants, will instead pitch in a simulated game Friday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports. "We'll bump him back," manager Scott Servais said. "We'll probably do one more live up-down before we slide him into the regular 'A' game rotation. I thought he threw well on the backfields today. He felt good coming out of it, so he'll continue building on that."
The right-hander is being treated with an abundance of caution after shoulder and elbow injuries wiped out most of his last two seasons. Johns adds that Walker could potentially pitch in a "B" game Friday as well. Walker got through two innings of live batting practice Monday without issues.