WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Just because Astros first baseman Christian Walker, an admitted homebody, stayed holed up in his South Carolina house this offseason with his wife and their baby, it didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of what was going on in the world of baseball.
More specifically, Walker’s name was the subject of rampant trade speculation this winter as the Astros shopped him and third baseman Isaac Paredes in deals to try to clear up their crowded infield picture. A trade could still happen before Opening Day, but Walker is entering the second year of a three-year, $60 million contract, which would make moving him more difficult than moving Paredes.
Walker said he wasn’t going to take any trade speculation seriously until he got a call from general manager Dana Brown or manager Joe Espada or another authority in the front office. Such calls never came, and a trimmed-down Walker reported to Spring Training on Thursday ready to put an up-and-down Houston debut in his rearview mirror and help the Astros return to the playoffs.
“From my perspective, I try to stay out of it as much as I can,” Walker said of the trade speculation. “It’s just a better headspace for the offseason, but it's a very realistic part of the business. As far as I'm concerned, this is home and I'm looking forward to this year.”
Walker was the Astros’ biggest free-agent acquisition of last offseason and was considered a middle-of-the-order bat with a Gold Glove résumé. He replaced José Abreu, the former American League MVP who signed a three-year deal but was released halfway through his second season in Houston in ‘24. Walker’s woeful first half at the plate had Astros fans wondering if he would suffer a similar fate as Abreu.
He slashed .229/.286/.374 prior to the All-Star break and recovered to hit .250/.312/.488 from there, winding up leading the club in homers (27) and RBIs (88). He finished the season with a .717 OPS and a 97 OPS+, putting him around league average at the plate. His metrics slipped defensively after winning three consecutive NL Gold Gloves in Arizona, but it was the best first base play the Astros have had in years.
“I felt good in the field,” he said. “I felt competitive. We were working on the right stuff. How much credit do you give things? How much are you willing to chalk things up to a weird year? That was a focus to get better and get back to who I’ve been on the defensive side of the ball.”
Changes to his workout regimen and diet led to Walker losing 10-12 pounds, which should allow him to move around better at first. He also spent a lot of time in the batting cage to try to make his swing more repeatable during the season. He tinkered with a toe tap. In the first half of last year, he had a hard time controlling his movements and leg kick, and his posture wasn’t in a good spot.
“When my posture's not in a good spot, my bat path does weird things,” he said. “I'm not gonna say it was a bad thing. It was just something that I wasn't used to, and it's something I couldn't quite figure out. So as I moved into the second half, I think my launch position was a little bit more consistent, more repeatable, and something more cohesive with hitting balls in the air and making good decisions.”
Unless the Astros trade Paredes, who missed two months in the second half of last season with a hamstring strain and wound up being supplanted at third base by Carlos Correa, the Astros will continue to have an infield logjam. To make it work, Paredes could play some first base, which would take at-bats away from Walker.
“My concern and my goal is for this team to be the best it can be this season,” Walker said. “All of us want to play every day. Every single guy in this clubhouse wants to play 162 games. So my goal is to be on the field every single day. Layer that with whatever makes the team the best, it's part of what we do.
"I'm here for the team. I'm here to win a World Series. Whatever happens in between now and winning that World Series, is the way it is. We'll be alright. But like I said, my goal is to play every day, be the everyday first baseman.”