Taijuan Walker will wear No. 99 with the New York Mets instead of his preferred No. 00.

Walker, who recently finalized a three-year, $23 million deal with the Mets, can't have 00 because it is worn by Mr. Met.

"I was 44 growing up, and I finally got it with the Mariners in 2016," Walker said. "And then I ended up getting traded at the end of the year, and when I got traded to the Diamondbacks, Paul Goldschmidt was No. 44. So I was, OK, I'm never going to get that again."

He opted to wear No. 99 thinking it would be safe going forward.

"And then, of course, last year I got traded to Toronto and (Hyun Jin) Ryu wears 99. So, I was like, OK, well, that didn't work out," Walker added. "So I'm wearing 00. Something different, again."

"And, of course, this year, Mr. Met is 00. So I just went back to wearing 99."