Marcus Walden was an afterthought as just one of those players who is signed to a minor league deal and stuffed in Triple-A either to eventually surface or be released. The Red Sox’ association with the 31-year-old right-hander began when Walden was signed as a free agent in December of 2016. Boston represented Walden’s fifth organization.
In 2017 Walden was primarily a starter at Pawtucket (AAA) winning 10 games with a humdrum 3.92 ERA. In 2018 Walden was again scheduled to start the season at Pawtucket, but an outstanding spring training rewarded Walden’s 11 seasons of minor league perseverance with a spot on the MLB roster.