In the wake of Kyle Tucker being dealt to the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros have quietly been building up the depth of their team.
Case-in point Friday morning — where reporter Mark Feinsand revealed that the Astros have agreed to terms with free agent first baseman Christian Walker. The deal is rumored to be 3-years for $60 million.
Walker appears to be a very good fit on the surface for the ‘Stros. Houston still wants to be competitive within the AL West. Walker fits the bill as a veteran player with playoff experience under his belt.
He’s won Gold Glove Awards each of the last three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Walker has also averaged 32 HR and 94 RBI over the same period. With the short porch in left field at Minute Maid Park, one can expect the right-handed hitter to approach the 30 HR mark yet again for his new club.
This move continues a bit of a reset by the Astros. The Tucker deal prevented Houston from having to shell out what will likely be a mega extension. Getting off Tucker and replacing him for all intents and purposes with shorter commitments from Walker and newly acquired Isaac Paredes gives the team more financial flexibility moving forward while still appearing to be a competitive ballclub.
Even if Alex Bregman also departs in free agency (which looks more and more likely by the day), Houston will still field a core featuring Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Yainer Diaz, Jeremy Pena, Paredes, and Walker. This grouping should be able to at the very least put Houston in contention to win the AL West.
Paredes would theoretically play third base with Walker at first. If Bregman somehow comes back to play third, Paredes would be slotted somewhere else.
