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The Houston Astros made a major move in the once-loaded first baseman free agency sweepstakes when they agreed to a three-year deal with Christian Walker, previously of the Arizona Diamondbacks, on December 20.
The team officially announced the signing on Monday, and with it, reports have surfaced about the nature of the deal. The three-year, $60 million contract will pay Walker an even $20 million per season and it comes with a limited no-trade clause that would allow him to block a trade to six teams, according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. There is no word on who those teams might be.
Walker comes to Houston headed into his age 34 season and off of a Gold Glove season in Arizona. His offensive numbers were down slightly compared to the last few seasons, but he still hit a respectable .251 with 26 home runs and an .803 OPS. Compare that to the 2024 Astros first basemen, primarily Jose Abreu and Jon Singleton, who combined to hit .226 with 18 home runs and a .651 OPS.
With Walker headed to the Astros and Paul Goldschmidt (New York Yankees), Carlos Santana (Cleveland Guardians) and Josh Naylor (Diamondbacks) all off the board, the biggest remaining name at first base is Pete Alonso.
Did the Christian Walker signing signal the end for Alex Bregman with the Astros?
While Walker is a first baseman and Alex Bregman has carved out a career at the hot corner, The Athletic's Chandler Rome believes the Walker signing means the former Astros first-round pick will not stay in Houston.
The Astros reportedly want to stay under the luxury tax threshold for 2025, and Walker's $20 million brings them within $4 million of that number.
To be fair, the writing was on the wall before Walker signed on the dotted line. Houston acquired Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker trade with the Chicago Cubs a couple weeks back. He can play third base for likely around $6 million, once the two sides agree to a deal in his first year of arbitration. Compare that to Bregman, who made $30.5 million last year. MLB Trade Rumors projects Bregman to earn a contract worth somewhere around $26 million per year in 2025.
Then there was the Astros' not-so-private pursuit of Nolan Arenado in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. Arenado ultimately blocked the deal with a no-trade clause of his own, but that certainly showed the Astros were ready to proceed without their homegrown two-time World Series champion.
