The Houston Astros have made another big offseason move, picking up free agent first baseman Christian Walker, per multiple reports. Walker and the Astros have agreed on a three-year, $60 million deal, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
Walker, who spent the past eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was ranked No. 10 on Yahoo Sports’ list of the top 50 free agents this offseason. The 33-year-old first baseman was something of a late bloomer in baseball, as he did not become a consistent starter for the D-backs until 2019, when he was 28 years old.
Walker won a Gold Glove in each of the past three seasons, sealing his reputation as one of the best first basemen in the league.
During the 2024 season, he hit 26 home runs and had a .251 batting average. But defense was where the infielder really shined: Walker finished the year with a league-leading .998 fielding percentage. He played in 129 games last season, missing time in August due to an oblique injury.
The move comes as Houston is trying to switch things up for next season, and it likely means free agent 3B Alex Bregman won’t return to the team. Nightengale reported that the Yankees also had interest in Walker and will now likely shift their focus to Paul Goldschmidt and Carlos Santana.
The Astros traded All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs last week. In the trade, Houston received infielder Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and prospect Cam Smith.
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