Astros sign first baseman Christian Walker

The Houston Astros have signed first baseman Christian Walker of Norristown, Pennsylvania to a three-year contract worth $60 million on Friday according to Rogers Sportsnet. The Astros become Walker’s third Major League Baseball team. He previously played two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles from 2014 to 2015, and the last eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2017.

2024 MLB Statistics

Walker batted .251 with 26 home runs and 84 runs batted in. During 130 games, 479 at bats, and 552 plate appearances, he scored 72 runs and had 120 hits, 26 doubles, two stolen bases, 224 total bases, eight sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .335, and a slugging percentage of .468.

This past season, Walker had two dingers in a game in five Diamondbacks wins. He accomplished the feat on April 30 in a 4-3 Diamondbacks win over the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, on June 13 in an 11-1 Diamondbacks won over the Los Angeles Angels, on July 3 in a 12-4 Diamondbacks win over the Dodgers, on July 4 in a 9-3 Diamondbacks win over the Dodgers, and on September 10 in a 6-0 Diamondbacks win over the Texas Rangers in interleague action.

In the game against the Dodgers on July 3, Walker tied a career high for most hits in a game with four. In addition to the two home runs, Walker had a single and a double. It was actually the seventh time in Walker’s career he has had four hits in a game.

Defensive Specialist

The last three seasons, Walker has won the National League Gold Glove Award at first base. In that time he has only committed nine errors.

Late bloomer

Walker did not see any regular playing time in the Major Leagues until he was 28 years old. Over his first four Major League seasons (two each in Baltimore and Arizona) he only played a total of 61 games before playing 152 games in 2019.

Moving on from Alex Bregman?

There is speculation at this time that the Astros will not bring back free agent third baseman Alex Bregman of Albuquerque, New Mexico after he played the last nine seasons with the Astros. Issac Paredes of Hermosillo, Mexico, who the Astros acquired in a trade last week with the Chicago Cubs, is expected to be the regular third baseman.