A new-look Astros club will have a new first baseman in 2025, as the team has reportedly agreed to terms on a three-year, $60MM contract with free agent Christian Walker. The CAA client’s deal is still pending a physical.
Walker’s deal with Houston seems to shut the door on the possibility of a reunion with Alex Bregman. Houston recently acquired Isaac Paredes from the Cubs as part of the trade sending Kyle Tucker to Chicago, and while Paredes could’ve played first base with Bregman in the fold, he’ll be slotted in at third base with Walker now on board. Similarly, this effectively eliminates any chances of Nolan Arenado landing in Houston — an outcome that was all but at the finish line before Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to nix the deal.
Walker, 34 in March, has been a target of the Astros for some time now, dating back to the trade deadline when was reportedly at the top of their wishlist. A deal didn’t get done then, obviously, but Houston still has a need at first base after their three-year deal with Jose Abreu almost immediately imploded on them. Houston first basemen — led by Abreu and Jon Singleton — turned in an awful .226/.291/.360 batting line on the season in 2024. Walker, meanwhile, hit .251/.335/.468 — almost an exact match for the .253/.333/.464 line he carries through 3171 plate appearances dating back to the 2019 season.
On top of his quality results at the plate, Walker has emerged as arguably the premier defensive first baseman in MLB. He’s won three straight Gold Glove Awards in the National League and leads all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved (33) and Outs Above Average (39) over the past three seasons. Matt Olson (27) and Carlos Santana (20) are second in those respective metrics. Walker’s defensive excellence at his position has essentially been unmatched.
Both Walker and the recently acquired Paredes are strong fits for the Astros, given the short left field porch at the newly renamed Daikin Park. That’s more true of Paredes, who’s one of the game’s most dead-pull and prominent fly-ball hitters. Walker has more of an all-fields approach, but when isolating his splits on pulled batted balls, he ranks 15th among qualified hitters in fly-ball rate (32.2%). Put more simply, Walker may spray the ball around a bit more than Paredes, but when he does pull the ball, he lifts it far more often than the vast majority of big league hitters. For a right-handed hitter with plenty of pop in his bat, that should play quite nicely with a 314-foot left field porch.
It’s been a bull market for free agents this offseason, and Walker had accordingly been hoping to land a four-year deal. He’ll “settle” for a year less than that on a deal that aligns with early expectations. His three-year, $60MM deal is an exact match for our predicted contract back on MLBTR’s annual ranking of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.
The $20MM annual salary on the contract puts the Astros north of the luxury tax threshold for what would be a second straight season. RosterResource now projects them at $244MM of luxury obligations — $3MM north of the $241MM tier-one threshold for the coming season. Their bottom-line payroll will depend on how that $60MM is divided over the three years of the deal, but if it’s evenly distributed, Houston would be just over $225MM in terms of actual player salary. (The luxury tax is calculated separately and based on the average annual value of all the team’s contracts.)
It’s still possible the Astros could duck back under the tax threshold. They’re reportedly telling teams they don’t intend to trade top starter Framber Valdez, but they’ve been exploring the trade market for reliever Ryan Pressly, who’s set to earn $14MM in 2025. More speculatively, they could also gauge interest in backup catcher Victor Caratini and his $6MM salary, then turn that role over to Cesar Salazar, who hit well in Triple-A and the majors this past season.
Dropping back under the tax line, however, doesn’t appear to be any kind of mandate. Owner Jim Crane said earlier in the winter that he “had the wherewithal” to cross that line and match his 2024 levels of spending if the right scenario presented itself. At the time, few envisioned that would entail trading Tucker and letting Bregman walk, but the Astros have been averse to the types of long-term megadeals both players — Tucker in particular — are expected to command. Houston hasn’t given out a contract longer than Yordan Alvarez’s six-year, $115MM contract or Jose Altuve’s six-year, $157.5MM extension under Crane’s ownership, the latter also being the largest guarantee in franchise history.
As a result, the Astros will give out their second three-year deal to a mid-30s first baseman in the past three years. Houston signed the aforementioned Abreu to a $58.5MM deal in the 2022-23 offseason and will still be paying Abreu $19.5MM this coming season after releasing him at the contract’s halfway point. That deal was negotiated by Crane himself and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell, as it came in the lull between the team’s dismissal of former GM James Click and the hiring of current GM Dana Brown. Astros fans may feel some trepidation about another multi-year deal for a first baseman well past his 30th birthday, though it bears mentioning that Abreu was 36 in year one of his contract; Walker will be 36 in the final season of this deal.
Walker declined a $21.05MM qualifying offer from the D-backs at the end of the season. As such, he’ll cost the Astros their second- and fifth-highest picks in the 2025 draft, as well as $1MM of space from their league-allotted bonus pool for international amateur free agency. That’s the steepest penalty possible for signing a qualified free agent, but the Astros find themselves in that tier as a result of exceeding the luxury tax threshold in 2024. The fact that they exceeded the tax threshold also means they’d only receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round in the now-likely event that Bregman signs elsewhere.
As for the D-backs, they’ll receive a comp pick after the first round, because Walker’s agreement is for more than $50MM guaranteed. It’ll be a nice parting gift, but Walker’s production will be tough to replicate with in-house options. Former top-10 draft pick Pavin Smith hit well in 158 plate appearances last season, but that was his first big league success in parts of five seasons and came in a small sample. The Snakes can hope for a similar late-bloomer trajectory to the one taken by Walker, but odds are against that. They could look to affordable alternatives in free agency (e.g. Carlos Santana, Justin Turner, a Josh Bell reunion) or sift through a deep trade market of first base options that includes Yandy Diaz, Josh Naylor, Nathaniel Lowe and perhaps Triston Casas (though the asking price on Casas would be extreme and surely cost the D-backs some coveted young pitching).
Robert Murray of FanSided first reported that the two sides were in advanced talks and closing in on a deal. Jim Bowden of The Athletic and MLB Network Radio reported that an agreement was in place, pending physical. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the terms.
That’s a good fit.
I love this move for the Astros. Just hope it doesn’t end up like Abreu.
I think the main difference is that Abreu was starting to show signs of fading before he came to Houston, the same cannot be said forWalker. This guy is an Astros type of player – a real grinder
Lol every fan base thinks their team’s players are “real grinders.”
5.0 WAR
3.8 WAR
2.6 WAR
Walker’s last 3 seasons. His bat is not declining much, but his overall play is.
Still a 180 degree turn from Abreu and Singleton. Astros fans have to be happy.
Now let’s get Abreu on the Angels, where he belongs!
He only played 130 games last year though
He has 3 good seasons at 34, astros got what they wanted, a cheap way to petend theyre still a player
Mmmm, possibly. But some players tenaciousness is a little more obvious than others
probably means more in running sports like soccer, basketball, football than in baseball which has more of a zen like quality
So, you’re saying the Astros front office is incompetent? Why else would they give Abreu a 3 year, $58 million contract, if he was already showing signs of fading?
people need to be honest. one or two years is not necessarily a trend. its not always clear what is a down year and what is a decline.
$60 million more than you have in the bank, cheap LOL
As stated in the above article, which you didn’t read, the Jose Abreu contract was negotiated by Jim Crane and Jeff Bagwell during a time period when the Astros did not have a GM.
He was having a great season last year before he got hurt
Asterisks got a good deal, I thought Walker would get a fourth year.
Bye bye, Bregman!
The Astros landing Walker could very well change Arenado’s thoughts about a trade…..
Arenado only wants to be traded to a team who shows a sincere desire to win a League Championship and make it to the World Series.
If the Astros upgrade with “quality players”, that’s a true indication the Astros have a true desire to win it all!!!
I imagine signing Walker closes the door on Houston’s interest in Arenado
Paredes would be best suited now for 3B, keeping that bat in the lineup. Bregman to TOR/BOS/NYY?
Hope so. He definitely overplayed his hand. Paredes could’ve played first and him at third. Oops! He’s getting paid no matter where.
Run, been hoping the Red Sox would sign Bregman because it would mean Devers is moving off 3B. Red Sox are not moving Devers unless they get a really good 3B and Bregman is a great one. Devers has a lead glove and concrete filled feet. He can flat out hit, but he can’t play defense to save his life.
No way he goes to NYY
@baseballisthebest — Absolutely on the move. Devers is a 1B playing 3B. Bringing in someone better suited like Bregman should humble Devers enough to make the move. Plus, wouldn’t that allow them to let go of some of that great IF prospect capital (not Mayer) for an arm?
RSox: You must have read the article. You just quoted it verbatim.
So that makes Casas a DH…thereby diminishing is already low value as a headliner? And do you really expect Devers to be any better at 1st than he is at 3rd…..how many more runs are the Sox going to give up by surrendering defense at 1st to a hitter that comes on the field with a glove……bad idea….
Run, Absolutely! Including Mayer there are 4 top 100 prospects that are all middle infielder that Breslow could package in a trade for an arm.
@rocky7 – Not necessarily. You could have a team that doesn’t want to pay Alonso or wants a higher offensive ceiling at 1B than Carlos Santana you could dangle a cheap, controllable chip like Casas (possibly SEA/DET, in need of offense), both 2 teams with quite a few impact arms. BOS could sweeten the pot by taking on some Luis Castillo’s remaining dollars not to give up an elite pos prospect.
Devers to DH hopefully.
.189 with 2 homers in June isn’t what I would call a great 3B, best years are all behind him, smallest 3B in baseball. Whatever contract he gets will age very poorly. He’s more worried about racing horses and selling salsa than baseball.
Zerbs63: How do you know that?
As a Sox fan I want no part of Bregman and his asking price. He is good, but his best years were like 4-5 years ago already. He’s been a .260’s hitter with 20-25 hr and no longer runs. Now he hit 30 and will start the slow decline. Why pay for that as a Sox fan? Especially not what he is asking. The Astro’s offered him more than he was worth and he declined.
No it ends the possibility of Arenado to the Astros. They have their 3B, got him from the Cubs, and now there’s no place to move him.
Nah this closes Arenado’s trade talks. The Astros now have an established 3B and a 1B
No, it closes the door on an Arenado trade. With Paredes at 3B and Walker at 1B, they have nowhere to play Arenado.
Isaac Paredes is HOU’s 3B. No one wants someone who doesn’t want to play for their team so HOU is out on Nolan Arenado.
…aren’t the Angels on his publicly available list of teams? I don’t think LCS is his metric
@17dizzy it closes the door on it where would he play? Had a feeling they were going to get a 1st baseman or outfielder on a decent deal to kinda supplant the loss of tucker while restocking.
He would wave his no trade clause to join the Angels. He doesn’t care about winning.
Lol. The nerve of Arenado. His bloated contract relative to performance is one of the many reasons STL isn’t good now.
If he wants to ride coattails in his twilight years, approved teams don’t need to pick up much of his remaining deal.
Stl signed him not his problem
that’s not going yo happen, he has already vetoed a trade Houston 3 days ago.
Then why were the Angels on his list? Clearly winning is not the *only* thing that dictates his list.
@tigers. He’s from the area. Him saying he only wants to play for competitive teams. Is like saying trout wants to be a phillie. I haven’t seen it.
lol
This move does the opposite. It reaks of parlaying the fans good will for as long as posible before the inevitable fall imo
@17
Wasn’t there a strong rumor that he preferred a West Coast team?
It changes nothing unless Houston can move the team to the LA or NY metro areas. Look at the teams on his approved trade list. 3 within 100 miles of LA and 3 on the east coast. He wants location not rings as evidenced by Anaheim being on his approval list.
His list is teams that either don’t need hin or can’t afford him. He did that on purpose to force teams not on his list to probably offer to tack years and dollars onto his deal, which i don’t feel there are many teams inclined to do so
Let me do the math for Asterisk fans who aren’t to bright to begin with, + Walker – Tucker – Bregman = no playoffs for you. Crane is a clown. Ahahahaha!
Actually, it’s ‘too’ bright…. And ‘too’ much ironicalization.
Grammer pulice spoling it egain four everywun. Ahahahahaha!
*Grammar
Congratulations you win the mlbtr participation trophy. The reward is a free bar of soap and bleach.
Your math is short a few data points.
+Walker
+Paredes
+Wesneski
+ rest of ofseason moves
(Trading Pressly and Caratini?)
-Tucker
-Bregman
Crane has overseen a winner for nearly a decade. He gets the benefit of the doubt.
Why sign walker and trade tucker. interesting moves by houston. walker will make more money than Tucker. tucker is a franchise player.
I’m guessing they wanted to get value for Tucker while they could because they know they had no chance to extend him. I think they’re trying to keep their window open as long as possible instead of selling out for one more year, then seeing him walk.
The funny thing is, they absolutely could re-sign him, but they’d have to break their own internal rules on contract length limits, which would make it impossible for them to impose those limits on any other star players they’d rather limit to a 5 or 6 year deal – I forget if their internal limit is 5 or 6 years, but it’s something like that.
Anyway, yeah- they knew Tucker would be looking for 7-10 years and they’d have to break their own policy, which they didn’t want to create a new precedent for when negotiating with other players.
If need be, the Astros could very well be in the mix to sign Tucker as a Free Agent next season.
I mean, sure, that has happened a few times- a team trades a pending free agent in the off season or at the deadline for a haul, only to re-sign them once they officially hit free agency the following winter…. but again, in order to sign Tucker, the Astros would have to either
a) break their contract length policy and effectively end that policy because other players will point to the Tucker deal and say if he gets the extra years, everybody should be entitled to pushing for those extra years.
b) if Tucker is looking at 8 years/$260M ($32.5M AAV) to 10 years/$400M ($40M AAV) and the Astros have a policy of limiting deals to 5 years, then he should call their bluff and ask for 5 years/$350M (or, $70M per season aka Ohtani money)
Almost impossible. They traded him entirely because they can’t afford his FA demands.
You realize he’s prob gonna ask for 10 years, close to 400 million, right?
Especially with Abreu’s 19.5 million falling off the books after 2025 and the last Grienke 16.5 million coming off after 2026.
@myaccount2 This is true, but the Astros must not feel very confident about their farm system if they thought keeping Tucker for another year and thus maximizing their chances for another Championship in 2025 was going to so badly threaten how long their competitive window will remain open.
@myaccount2
The Astros had/have EVERY “chance” to extend/sign Tucker; they just don’t want to pay him what other teams are willing to pay him.
But it’s not like it’s out of the Astros’ hands; they just don’t pay.
But they do keep winning. They are doing something right.
This year he will. Tucker is a free agent after the 2025 season though and with Boras as his agent he’ll be commanding $400-500M on his next deal.
I just can’t see him getting 400-500 million. Entering the 2026 season, he’ll be 29. Will teams really want to give him that much when in year 2, he’ll be 30 already?
You’re right. Nobody should sign anybody past 30 years old, especially when so many players are close to or just past 30 during their first chance at a free agent contract.
I will never understand these takes.
It’s not your money. They’re under paid while under team control. No ownership group has ever fielded a team budgeted to lose them money- teams profit at every payroll level.
Most mega deals get 2-4 years tacked on to reach the players’ total salary guarantee goal while keeping the AAV at a functional level.
So if Tucker gets, say, 10 years/$400M, it’ll be because he wanted to reach that $400M mark and the team didn’t want to commit $80M a year towards one player in order to sign them.
Most free agent players looking for extra years don’t care about the years, they care about the total dollars and compromise by asking for extra years to keep their annual cost down.
Teams have budgets. If you sign Tucker for $40m AAV, that’s probably two players you don’t get. In this case Walker and Parades, which in my estimation is more value than you get from Tucker.
The Astros traded Tucker cause they felt they couldn’t resign him after his contract runs out, and better to take the Cubs offer then take a qualifying offer draft pick comp when he walks away.
Then again, keeping Tucker for one more year to maximize their chances for making the playoffs and possibly even winning the 2025 World Series and then setting for the QO pick has its own merits and is often considered the “better” choice.
In no way is Walker going to make more than Tucker will next off season. Won’t even be in the same planet. Walker will likely be 4 years while Tucker will be 10+ years at over $300-$400 million
orbitsbrother- please imagine that meme-ified moment from Django Unchained where Leonardo DiCaprio smirks while holding his drink.
orbitsbrother: Read the article. Walker got three years.
My comment was prior to the terms being disclosed.
They handled this very well imo
Flipped Tucker for actual talent knowing he probably wasn’t going to resign, have their starting 3B handled for 10 years essentially
I really don’t understand comments like this. They are signing Walker because they need a good 1B. If they could’ve signed Tucker to a deal like Walker’s they would’ve instantly. Tucker will get 10 years and 400 million next year and there’s no way the Astros will keep him, so they traded him now for a package of players that will help this year and in the future.
Did you see the quality of players and length of control they got in return for a single year of Tucker? Even if they were sure they could re-sign him to an extension or have him choose them in FA for 2026, I think they might have made the trade. This was a great window extension trade. They can still bid on him next year too. If they sign Walker here, they are 1 OF away from being better than last year.
Because Walker will get four years and Tucker would get ten years. And they got some nice assets for Tucker.
Well, actually only three years. I thought he would get four years before they updated the news.
Top 100: Walker actually got three years.
Obviously Tucker will make more money than Walker when Tucker is in arbitration. Starting next year, Tucker will make WAY more and the Astros couldn’t afford it. There’s no correlation between the two contracts. Very different deals and situations.
In arbitration, Tucker was projected to make about 17-18 million in 2025 had the Astros not traded him. Walker will now make 20 million a year from the next 3. Basically being the Abreu contract extended 2 more years.
@mlb
Tucker will likely be a $400 mil player. That’s what the Astros were starting down the barrel of facing. 3/$60 is short term for a relatively low aav.
One of the goals of the Astros front office was to remain competitive while also improving the farm system. These moves did just that. The Astros did not have any prospects in the top 100, now they have at least 1. They went from a potentially expensive Bregman to a cheaper and under control Paredes who just so happens to profile almost exactly like Bregman anyways. Now they have a 1B who can actually play and under control for 3 years. Their outfield is still a huge question mark though, but the infield is actually pretty dang good with Walker, Altuve, Paredes and Diaz. Pena is a glove first guy so anything out of him would be nice
Easy, 60 million is not 400 million.
They’ve let a bunch of talent walk before and still had success. I think this is finally a step up for them since they’ll actually get something now.
The Astros knew that they would not be able to re-sign Tucker so they got the most value possible for him.
Traded 5-6 WAR in 1 year of Tucker for 8 WAR in 3 years of Paredes, 5 years of a swingman in Wesneski, and 6+ years of team control of a top 3B prospect.
Walker signing was unrelated. The Astros needed a 1B and he was one of the top 2 on the market. He also signed a short term deal.
because really good players earn a lot more than mediocre players
Yep. 2.5-3 WAR players grow on trees. 5-6 WAR players are hard to find.
Walker only got a 60 million contract, tucker is going to get over 300 miion. They didnt trade tucker cause they couldnt afford this year, they traded him because he wouldnt resign after this year and they didnt want to pay that 300 million on 1 player.
Yea but they feared being close to a playoff spot and being forced to keep him. The point of why to do it now
Not mad. Let them sign him to a longer deal and he may be alike Jose Abreu around the final season of it.
Well that was fast and yeah it’s a good fit.
You know what, Christian Walker and Astros? Stick it to Bregman.
4 years/$110M. Heck, make it 5 years/$175M why not?
Stros can give up the draft picks and pool money more easily than others.
Why would the Astros take a chance with another 34-year-old first base FA. Didn’t they learn something from the Abreu disaster. I guess it would signal the end to Bregman now with Paredes at 3rd and Walker at 1st.
Abreu was 36 when he signed with Houston. There were also some hints of decline his last year in Chicago (fewest homeruns in his career that last year)
Walker will just have turned 34 at the start of next season and has no red flags in his performance. He’s also a 3 time gold glover at first so he offers value beyond his bat which Abreu did not.
Apples to pumpkins
Let’s be real Walker is probably a decade younger than Abreu, I like Abreu but he completely fell off a cliff. It is unlikely Walker will decline that bad 34-36 but you never know.
Abreu CLAIMED he was 36..but there has long been speculation that he’s actually 5 yrs older at least
Speculation by whom? Do you have a link to someone saying that?
he is from cuba. if you are assuming his age is correct youre a fool
There is just too much incentive for age shaving, does Abreu get that last deal if he was 41? No way. The record keeping and lack of communication between USA and Cuba makes it easy for these guys.
its all about appearances. if you dont pretend you are keeping up you wont sell as many tickets. I also think some of these players are taking a chance with PEDs right before free agency because the risk/reward is worth it. then after they sign they stop
PLEASE DON’T SIGN WITH DETROIT BREGMAN! I DON’T WANT YOU!
Breaking News:
Bregman and Detroit Tigers in tentative agreement on 12 years/$540M contract, pending physical.
Sure
For the right contract length and price why not, especially if they want to build on their playoff appearance? Same rationale goes for the Tigers signing Walker and trading Tork, although it seems more likely they hedge their bets with Tork and sign someone like Santana.
Don’t the Tigers have Jung? Are fans writing him off after 70 AB?
His defense at 3B has not been good is the main reason he seems to be floated as the odd man out. His natural position is 2B but Colt Keith is there. Ideally they would just switch spots as Keith was a 3B with a gun for an arm, but Keith had an arm injury. There is talk Jung could get ABs at 1B, 2B and 3B this year. He is a good hitter for sure. If he hits then I think they will let him develop his defense at 3B. Having said that Bregman is an automatic upgrade. Honestly i’d prefer them to sign Kim and let him split time with Jung, then transition Kim to supersub or even SS later once Jung settles in.
Just based on usage in their playoff run, Jung got squeezed out due to his inability to grip and throw a baseball to someone’s chest. That was only a problem, granted, when the ball made it from his glove to his hand in the first place. He can hit, sure, but didn’t get into a homer or even many XBH’s, either. I’m not impressed. Would be happy to flip him for some talent.
So fans have given up on him after 70 AB. Please send him our way. Since he is so terrible, I am sure Breslow would send the Tigers a low A reliever for him. That should be enough, right?
Sorry, but you seem to be wrong on a lot of accounts here. Alex Bregman is a shortstop naturally. He is a gold glove winning third baseman, as recently is 2024. As an Astros fan I watch probably half of their games. Alex is as good of third baseman as I’ve seen.
IF they signed Bregman they could use Jung as a trade piece because Keith blocks him at 2B. No one has given up on him, just recognizing that prospects are unproven and can be used to get other things a team needs(i.e. a #2 starter).
Then please tell me you never watched Caminiti
I predict 4 year 100m
Honestly probably pretty accurate. Anybody signing with the Astros knows they shouldn’t have to take any kind of discount or be a team player taking a more ‘functional’ salary.
Any free agent signing with the Astros should take the attitude of ‘oh my market is somewhere between $10-$15M a season? I want $18M a year to sign with the Astros.” or “Oh my market is somewhere between $15-$20M a season? I want $26M a season to sign with the Astros.”
Take advantage of the fact that they’re a team in decline with a tainted image/legacy and get your money.
Nothing is tainted at all. The stuff they took the fall for happened 7 years ago.
Mmkay.
“took the fall” LOLOLOLOLOLOL
Their “punishment” was like that of a bank robber who is allowed to keep the money
Lmao at thinking the Astros have to pay more for players like they’re a team no one wants to play for.
You’re goofy.
I am Big Billy,
the biggest wet willy
I’m gonna go clearly mhm…
“Big bad Bill is Sweet William now”. VH.
Trill, aaaand he took LESS than current market would dictate to play for Houston
I predict 3/$60M… 😉
Like it allot more than giving bregman his 200 million. Still need a couple cheaper options to compete for time in outfield. Also need some depth in the pitching department. Alot of names there, but most are coming off surgery or ineffectiveness.
Houston is about to remind Mariners who their daddy is!
Yep
Nope. Walker for his career vs the Mariners
204/291/388. Sure small sample size of 55 plate appearances, but still not great against that Seattle rotation.
oh to be in a trash division
I hope they get him dude going to start falling off soon.
Yankees should have brought back Gio on a cheap deal for 3B. Hopefully Yankees don’t over pay for Bregman. I’m glad Baltimore and Toronto been cheap/quiet this Off-season
Bregman looks like a disaster in the making. If it’s short-term no problem but he’ll want more years.
I think 4 years 95M will do it.
Wish orioles had kept him.
Braves too
They must not really believe in Bregman anymore
34 yr old Walker at 4 years is a better value then Bregman for 6 years and 180 million ( think they offered in the 160s) but who knows if 180 would do it.
He may be looking for 7 years 240ish
How does Jon Singleton still have a job?
Jon Singleton can actually hit righthanders very well. Here’s something kind of frightening, Nolan Arenado and John Singleton had about the same OPS last year (Singleton .707, Arenado .719).
The big difference is that hitting RHPs is Singleton’s only job; whereas for Arenado, he provides value in other parts of the game.
Boyz in the Hood was really good
Bregman wants more years and money they are willing to give, better grab an above average talent before they are all gone. So Paredes and Walker to replace Bregman and Tucker, plus Cam Smith is developing and Hayden Wesneski.
Astros won’t give out more than 6 years. If Walker signs then the only holes are the outfield, and there are more options there.
Is picking an arbitrary threshold wise though?
4 years for a 34 year old or
6-7 years for a 30 year old?
Seems the decline phase is neutral to edge for Bregman in this decision. Plus keeping a homegrown player has to be better for jersey sales, rep, etc.
I can understand shying away from 10-12 year mega contracts, but eventually Houston will have to change their modus operandi as their winning window from their tankathon prospect horde has almost expired.
Do it and get this guy off the board. Pleeeeease!
Makes sense. Think the Astros need to try and make the starting lineup deeper. After the 5 hole it was a mess. Feel like their next move needs to unquestionably be OF help. Where it is at now is a disaster with Meyers, McCormick and vacant in LF.
Sounds like the D’Backs will make out in the MLB draft a 2nd & 5th plus a compensation pick after the 1st rd just for offering Walker a qualified offer. Houston is paying a lot for Walker to sign, he better have a above solid year to make this work for Houston.
Dbacks only get 1 comp pick. Doesn’t matter that stros have to give up 2
This seems like a nice fit. I really expected the Diamondbacks to bring him back. Looks like they won’t.
I think the D’Backs were hoping for Walker to no get any real offers going into ST then they could have signed him for one year at about 25mil.
I had this feeling the D’Backs were not going to offer him a 3 or 4 year contract at 34 yrs old. They have been burnt before on player signing when they reach 34, they were not going to do it again.
Terrible news for Giants fans
Giants didn’t want walker.
I hope Houston can sign Walker. Excellent offensively and his defense is outstanding.
Astros then have to sign two OFs as they cannot go into 2025 with both Meyers and McCormick as their starting OFs.
Walker and Paredes is a nice duo to add to the lineup.
Houston fans should see plenty of HR.
3 years/$60M is… an incredibly fair deal all around. Not an overpay, not an underpay, probably the correct total number of years.
This is a good deal for both player and club, straight up.
No sass from this comment section warrior.
@TTO
Yep, fair. That said; this can’t be good news for Alonso both in AAV and term.
Why would it have any impact on Alonso’s deal other than taking away one possible landing spot.
Walker is 34, coming off a 2.6 WAR season, his 2nd in a row in decline, a season in which he played only 130 games because of injuries, and he got 3/60. Exactly what MLBTradeRumors projected.
Polar Bear is going into age 30 season. Based on age alone he will get 4-5 more years. 7-8 years at $25 million AAV is what Alonso will get.
Point taken Baseballisbest but to an extent. “7-8 years” for Pete. Woah. Considering age, I was thinking 5 maybe 6 for Pete and CW at 4. And I thought Pete had a shot at an AAV in high 20s maybe 30, not now.
Excellent deal. Not an overpay and not too long.
This upgrades first base, but means Bregman leaves. I love this and hate this.
Bregman had his chance,
DET would be a good spot for him but I don’t think they want to pay more than say 175M total (like many other teams)
HOU wanted to make some moves while certain players were still available. Not snoozing and losing (or being unrealistic about salaries to obtain better players)
Another wrong choice for the contest. I had NYM for C. Walker
Is there a consolation prize?
I think all Astro fans really appreciate Alex. The unfortunate truth is that he was starting to show signs of his age – not that he’s old. Signing him to a six year contract would’ve been a mistake. Also, I might add trading for Arenado would’ve been a monstrous mistake.
Looks like the 1B market will be the inverse of the SP market.
Not a good sign for Alonso.
I’m surprised he didn’t get closer to 25M AAV per year or a 4th year
I wonder IF he had a geographical preference
I think this is a missed opportunity for a lot of teams including NYY and NYM
It will be interesting to see IF he gets any guaranteed 4th year money with a buyout. I think this should work out well for HOU and some teams will be sorry they didn’t go for 4 years.
I definitely think HOU will give Tucker an opportunity to return to them in 2026 with a generous (but not the highest offer in terms of total $
I agree this is not good news for Alonso.
I agree this is not good news for Alonso. Time to fish or cut bait, Pete. I don’t see the Mets signing Bregman for 7 years, but it’s not impossible for a shorter contract. Alonso could be taking a different subway to work.
Yay! Good for you, Walker! Glad he’s going to the Astros and not the Yanks. I don’t hate the player, but a year with an option was all I was in for. Glad Cash felt the same, maybe, lol. Either way, yay!
Cashman is about to lay down 8/200 for the Polar Bear.
/s
For that I’m in.
Comical the mariners ownership couldn’t even afford that. What are they telling their fans?
All season we heard that the Mariners were a big bat away from being in it again with that great pitching. The year before they made the playoffs but fell short. Now a great opportunity for a big bat on a short contract and crickets from the M’s
So true Brick,
This contact seems incredibly affordable for any franchise looking to compete at a high level. As an M’s fan I am hoping that they have something up their sleeve like a trade for Yandy Diaz and or B. Lowe with the Rays and adding a 3b like Bohm but when ownership feels like they are ‘all in” on a two year 24 million contact for Mitch Garver, what do you expect? Was hoping things had changed with owner John Stanton’s financial leash on the franchise but this signing is the nail in the coffin that it has not. Please sell the team John, I believe that there are wealthy people out there who would purchase this team and be excited about how close they are to being a true contender and be willing to spend a little more to try and get there.
I don’t think Jerry wanted to sign Walker due to his age. Watching too many guys over 30 come to Seattle and flail. It’s also possible that Mariners courted him and he just said No. Even besides the hitting environment, it’s hard to get free agents to come to Seattle.
I’m a little shocked, Cashman wasn’t in on a 3 year deal.
Didn’t want to lose draft picks and draft dollars? Prefers longer, more expensive contracts?
I don’t think it was worth it tbh for the Yanks. I think the Astros currently have a shorter compete window so it makes more sense. Yanks are still looking for a longer solution to 1b so locking up a Walker to three years isn’t worth it.
Possibly Cashman wants the Polar Bear?
I wouldn’t say no to that.
After all the insanity this offseason, three years and sixty mill looks…reasonable? Walker should have had TJ surgery. He would have gotten six years and two hundred million. Sarc off.
Looks good more and more like Bregman will go to someone like Tigers on a Bellinger-like deal — three years with multiple expensive options…
It’s a solid signing. May counterintuitively lower the price for Bregman as well.
3 years 60 million seems fair but the Astros need to accept reality that their window is closing. This will just delay the rebuild.
With Paredes and Walker, I think 2025 Astros infield is improved. Outfield is another story.
But man, amazing they got him for 3/$60
Pains me as a dbacks fan. No one believed in him when he was in Baltimore. alot of teams are skeptical now with their moves cause of the dodgers moves. some people don’t want to believe it but it’s true.
Still not sure why arenado declined houston trade.
Any insight??
Said he wants to go somewhere that’s ready to win. That ain’t the Stros.
This is a better deal for Astros anyway, I don’t think they sign Walker if they got Arenado.
Lol, we’ll see
If this is a price point indicator for 1B – probably signals a return of Alonso to Queens. Not sure that’s the best move for NYM
No other team saw the value in three-years, $60 million for Walker? Astros did well with this deal.
Astros are a solid place for c walker
But i said the same thing abt jose abreu
And that did not work out at all
The collapse of José Abreu is the biggest I’ve ever seen. I’m getting kind of old and I’ve been watching baseball a long time and things like that just don’t ordinarily happen. Even if Walker does a normal fade this is a good deal.
Glad to get the Dodger killer out of the NL West.
Let’s hope Walker can get up to speed on their system pretty quickly. I’m sure his jersey is being fitted with the listening devices as we type.
Tired and sad.
I didn’t know Q worked for them now.
3/60 is not too bad at all. I wonder where Bregman will go.
My first non-obvious category correct FA prediction!!
For their sake, let’s hope this works out better than the last 1B in his 30s they signed to a 3 year, $60 million dollar contract.
This deal runs until Walker is 36.
Abreu was 36 when the contract started.
Weird comparison.
Super weird. Never seen a player fall off at age 34!just unheard of
Really….well how about DJL on the Yankees…he’s 36 now but his decline started 2 seasons ago when he was 34…..and there’s probably dozens more…..injuries or just Father Time……just don’t want to waste my time making more a a point here.
Not really, I clearly included the similarities in my original post, but since you seemed to have missed them, so I’ll post them again:
1) Same position
2) Same contract
3) Both players already in their 30s
There’s also the matter of it mostly just being a joke.
Paredes has been trash outside his stint in Tampa Bay’s ballpark. Might want to pump the brakes.
I think HOU will be generally happy with their bet on Paredes
His production; offense, defense and salary cost
For his 2.5 years as a Ray, Paredes hit better on the road.
Meanwhile the Reds sign the immortal Bryan Shaw.
Astros got a good get in Walker. Three years just right.
Well…this just might’ve ruined Pete Alonso’s Christmas. Very similar profile other than age.
Age matters. Just ask Soto.
He gonna mash in that ballpark
RIP Dbacks. Sad to see. They looked like a promising dynasty in the making but wouldn’t spend any money
Unless Walker didn’t want to return – this contract total $ and length should have been within their budget. They had too much money tied up in their pitching OR Door #2 made a bad judgement they’ll regret. My bet is door #2.
I think IF AZ keeps Montgomery he’ll put up relatively good numbers and his salary is not outrageous
If i were the dbacks, id considrr mountcastle from the orioles. He is essentially a lite version of walker
As a Yankees fan, I’m glad. I personally wasn’t interested in a 3 year deal for a 34 year old…..even though he’s been very good. Would rather trade for N Lowe, Yandy or Naylor.
We’ll know what’s the plan as far as 1st on the next move Cash makes….if he signs a 3rd baseman, he’s either waiting for the remaining 1st base candidates contract demands to fall, or he’s planning on Belly to play plenty of 1st in a platoon role there…….if he signs an outfielder than look forward to Bellinger playing 1st full time to start the season and he will platoon at 3rd for now with Cabrera, Perraza, and DJL………personally, I don’t think Bregman can handle NYC nor does Cash want to commit to him for 5+ years at big time money so my money would be on a guy who can play LF…..
Agree on all of that. I’d like to see Cashman get bats via trade from here. Nobody left out there in free agency is worth the money. Brendan Donovan would be a great target for LF if Beli is playing 1B. If Beli is in LF, Naylor, Lowe or Yandy could be had for 1B. If we grab any of them, I’m fine with giving Waldo a real shot at playing 3B. Great glove, great kid. Could see him hitting .250 with 15 dongs and 15 steals if he’s an every day player.
Why would the Astros trade Tucker, probably let Bergman go, but sign Walker?
Deadline trade guy is the only logical conclusion
Simple. The astros have a budget. Theyve lost all these “core” players like correia and springer before and have consistently continued to win. They make smarter choices instead of sentmental ones.
DBacks will probably sign Goldschmidt now.
The Tigers should consider Goldschmidt regardless of how things work out with Bregman. Their infield needs a whole lotta help!
Thank god he’s out of the NL west. Absolutely kills the Dodgers every year.
Cashman is probably in on Alonso. I don’t believe the reports, which is just some reporter’s opinion or gut feeling of what’s going on
Reporters don’t like Alonso so they come up with a story how nobody is interested
Should have went to Seattle where he could have become an absolute legend instead of Houston where he’ll always be just another player.
Yankees Acquire Ketel Marte
i wish!
Very jealous of the Astros getting Walker. Love his steady bat and amazing defense. He’ll have no issues being worth $60 mill.
welcome to the bronx paul goldschmidt
Bregman is pretty much done with Houston with this move I think. I still think Bregman signs with Detroit, but nice move by Houston, dollars and years are just right.
I could see Bregman signing with Detroit, no jokes-
In total seriousness, I am someone who is concerned about Bregman holding up in his 30’s, having seen the cracks and regressions in his performance and peripheral stats the past couple years, despite the overall productivity and value.
I think Bregman is looking for 5-8 years totaling as far over $200M as he can get and anybody who gives that to him is gonna have an ugly back half of a contract.
Detroit might have to suck that up to look like they are trying.
DET has to feel burned by the Baez contract.
Is he getting over an injury? Does he need glasses?
DET has to be hoping he gets off to good start in 2025 and give them some production.
Is he re-dedicating himself in the off season?
Absolute steal at that price.
he should fire his agent
$20 Million a year/ or a 4th year minimum…..he sure signed cheaply….
Underpaid at $20 million per year?
Merry Christmas, Mr. Walker.
You’re living the American Dream…
Glad to see him leave the NL West. He should do well in Houston.
Finally my Astros got them a First baseman I seen Christian Walker on my Baseball Package I get every year and I saw a lot of Arizona Diamondbacks games he Christian Walker was a great fielder & can hit for power. The Astros got a great player.
Walker must have saved a lot of money by negotiating that deal himself.
This is perfect!! Turns up the excitement level on Bregman by default as well!!
daikin park? that will take some getting used to
Have you seen the price of Minute Maid Orange Juice?
Too Rich for the Astros blood but orange juice good for the Vitamin C
Not all of us are privileged to the crop report like you are Mortimer.. or is that you Randolph?
Well, this sucks.
Here’s a way for Houston to get under the luxury tax.
Send Ryan Pressly & $5M to Boston
Boston sends Houston Wilyer Abreu
Houston gets the young, cheap LHH gold glove OF they need to replace Tucker in RF and Boston gets the established closer they are looking for to add to Chapman & Hendriks in the back of their bullpen. Win-Win
Pressley still has value but on the decline (He is more of a setup man and you don’t know how he adapts to Fenway) and even with $ included BOS wouldn’t do that for W. Abreu
if they’re going to part with abreu i think it would be for a starter
You don’t want Pressly closing games. 7th inning or 8th inning guy.
I’m glad the Yankees didn’t make that deal!
When did all the back-up C’s start making 6Mil a yr ? Great gig if u can get it.
So what can alonso reasonably expect now? 5/100? 3/75? i doubt anyone will give him 6/150+
He’s younger than Walker and probably better. He will get a lot more than Walker.
I’m thinking that’s not the case. I don’t even know if he’s really that much better anymore. Definitely younger, so the extra years make sense. I can’t see 6/150 and would bet against that if there were somewhere to place that bet.
Alonso is almost 4 years younger. That’s a big deal those are prime years the Walker deal could be all declining years the Alonso deal probably won’t be.
I think 4 or 5 years at not much over than 20M per year.
Maybe 4 years at 22M with a signing bonus (which is part of the 88M total) I don’t think Pete needed to change to Boras as his agent. It might hurt him more than help
He will get more than that easily
6/$150 seems fair
Yeah I think thats about right
I don’t understand the Astros. One of the best teams in baseball. For them, I really like the Walker signing. I agree with teams not budging on that 4th year. But dear Lord, getting rid of Kyle Tucker? What were the Astros thinking? “Yeah, let’s get rid of one of our best players for trash, but then sign Christian Walker! Oh what a great idea, that’ll even things out!” Nupe. Maybe keep Tucker, sign Walker, and re-sign Bregman. Better that Paredes guy and whomever is gonna replace Tucker.
Mariners should have traded Castillo and Bliss to Cubs for Paredes and Hoerner.
Why Is it so hard to understand they have been having internal conversations with Tucker about an extension (he is a Boras client) and they know they are going to lose him after 2025. They wanted to get something for him (besides a QO draft pick compensation) before he leaves.
I don’t think Tucker is a Boras client.
Singleton was just coming around and had a career year in 2024. It marked the first time he was not in negative WAR.
It hard to believe he had made MLB roster in 2014 and ten years later he has only accumulated 2 years of service time yet had a 5 year contract for 10m
Good signing. Other teams maybe should have went 4 years. Goldschmidt Santana are nice fall backs.
This is good for the Mets. This move clearly shows that Alonso isn’t worth more than around 100 million dollars. The market has dictated this
Can they send Presley and a prospect to AZ for McCarthy. Gives them a left handed hitting OF with some athleticism and clears money
Nice waste of money for Houston. They aren’t going to compete with their horribly average roster and now they are going to pay the luxury tax with a roster that is likely third best in that division LMAO
I truly hope these moves pan out. Paredes how is he in the clubhouse too. Walker will Daikin be good to them. Will Crane still be owner and Dana GM by 2028 or so when maybe these two fall out.
Pressly and Caratini will they be traded. Astros do seem keen on Salazar behind plate. Houston did pick up a catcher. Who can Houston find for outfield. We will have 2 easy outs with Chas and Meyers. That Trammel guy not even sure with him that we got from Yankees. Yordan is no LF. He cannot go get those balls. Doubt want to use Dubon. Chas is RF. They have had those two for 3 or 4 years. Chas had one good year. Meyers has not been great since his crash into wall a few years ago in playoffs.
Still see needs. Does that pitcher guy show stuff. With Blanco, Arrighetti uncertain with them. Brown hope steps up. Framber is our vet.
I think big stuff Houston is done. But still with pitching IF McCullers and Garcia are in line for opening day. Javier late season and France. I think extended Javier then he went down. But what will McCullers have. Garcia as well. McCullers has been out longer.
I know a lot seems good of people we got. Will it pay off. I do wish the best for Tuck in Chicago. Will he produce in Wrigley field. Bregman wherever he goes. If he wanted what Houston offered he would have signed. Now see if gets another year and mo money unsure
Great these cheating dirtbags buy another star and the DBacks lose a guy that always beats the Dodgers. This sport is a f***ing joke.
Damn. As a Met fan now the Yankeees will go for Pete sad emoji.
Why does Trade Rumours always use “MM” after a dollar amount? So they’re paying Walker “$20MM” per year??? Twenty-million million!?!?!? That’s a lot of money, one million zeros after the first 6 zeros?!??
$20 000 000×1 000 000zeros? That’s more money than in the history of the entire planet and ever will be until the end of time! I think the largest number is a Googillian which is like 10 to the power of 34, but this, this takes the cake! 10 to the power of 100! Whew! Christian Walker is now like the Prince and King of the Entire Galaxy and the entire Universe! He could save world hunger after one inning next year!
The cheatin Astros just slammed the door on Bregman! Cold blooded indeed
His agent didn’t do a good job