Taylor Widener


Taylor Browning Widener is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball.

Career

Widener attended South Aiken High School in Aiken, South Carolina and played college baseball at the University of South Carolina. He was both a starter and relief pitcher at South Carolina. After his junior season, he was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 12th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft.

New York Yankees

He made his professional debut with the Staten Island Yankees and was promoted to the Charleston RiverDogs after not allowing a run over 15 innings with Staten Island. He finished 2016 with a combined 3-0 record and a 0.47 ERA in innings pitched between both clubs. Widener spent 2017 with the Tampa Yankees where he posted a 7-8 record with a 3.39 ERA in 27 starts.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On February 18, 2018, the Yankees sent Widener to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-team trade, in which the Yankees acquired Brandon Drury from the Diamondbacks, the Diamondbacks acquired Steven Souza from the Tampa Bay Rays, and the Rays acquired Nick Solak from the Yankees and Anthony Banda and two PTBNL from the Diamondbacks. Widener spent 2018 with the Jackson Generals, pitching to a 5-8 record with a 2.75 ERA in 26 games. He spent 2019 with the Reno Aces, going 6-7 with an 8.10 ERA over 23 starts, striking out 109 over 100 innings.
Widener was added to the Diamondbacks 40–man roster following the 2019 season. Widener made his major league debut on July 25, 2020 against the San Diego Padres, pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings.