Houston Astros Sign Christian Walker to a Three-year Deal
The Houston Astros keep pushing the pedal to the metal as they have finally landed their new first baseman.
Last Friday, the Houston Astros made their first big move of the offseason and addressed the hole they had at third base when they acquired Isaac Paredes from the Chicago Cubs in the Kyle Tucker blockbuster trade.
Now, just a week later, they addressed their need at the opposite corner of the infield by agreeing to a three-year, $60 million contract with veteran first baseman Christian Walker, according to MLB insiders Robert Murray and Ken Rosenthal.
The 33-year-old Walker, who spent the last eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, marks the first major free agent first base domino to fall this offseason, as we now await deals for Pete Alonso, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt.
At the plate in 2024 Walker put together another solid season, hitting 26 HR and 84 RBI with a .251/.335/.468 slash line as well a 119 wRC+ and a 3.0 fWAR.
This marked his third straight season, with a wRC+ at 119 or higher, a 3.0+ fWAR and an .800+ OPS.
And Walker has built up a reputation as a world class defender, taking home the last three National League Gold Gloves at first base.
In 2024 he posted seven DRS and 13 OAA, marking his third consecutive campaign with at least seven DRS and 12 OAA.
Walker’s Fit with the Astros
The Astros had long been linked Walker after a largely unproductive year at the first base position in 2024, which was primarily split for them between Jon Singleton and José Abreu, who they released in June.
As a team, Houston ranked tied for 24th in MLB at first base in wRC+, tied for 26th in OPS and 28th in fWAR.
Walker will also do wonders in replacing some of the middle of the order production they lost in Tucker and have assumingly lost in Alex Bregman, who looks less likely to return in free agency now.
He should slot in nicely within the heart of their order, giving the Astros a formidable top five in the lineup between him, Jose Altuve, Isaac Paredes, Yordan Alvarez and Yainer Diaz.
And we can’t forget how beneficial Daikin Park is for right-handed power bats like Walker, as hitting towards the Crawford boxes is a dream come true for a slugger with 30+ home run capabilities like him.
And from a defensive standpoint, Walker stands to make a world of a difference in Houston at first, as they ranked dead-last in the league in both DRS and OAA at the position in 2024.
Adding a seven DRS and 13 OAA player like he was this past year will also have a significant impact on the team as a whole, as they finished in the lower half of the league in both metrics (20th in DRS and 18th in OAA) in 2024.
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