Houston Astros Eye Christian Walker as ‘Dream Target’ at Trade Deadline: Report
Any first baseman showing signs of life in his bat will no doubt end up the target of Houston Astros trade rumors. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Christian Walker, however, tops Houston’s wish list, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Heyman gave a slew of updates on Thursday night, July 4, and mentioned how he expects Houston to approach the upcoming trade deadline.
“The Astros, now a clear threat to win the West yet again, seek a starter (or two) and a hitter (possibly a 1B if it’s a clear upgrade),” he wrote. “Their dream target is thought to be Diamondbacks 1B Christian Walker, a free agent to be.”
Walker has won the last two National League Gold Gloves at first base and is having a career year at the plate. In 87 games, he is hitting .271 with 22 home runs and an .871 OPS. Compare that to all Houston first basemen, who this year have combined to hit .204 with 9 homers and a .598 OPS.
As the July 30 trade deadline creeps closer, Houston has emerged as a clear buyer, despite an awful start to the 2024 season. Winners of 12 of their last 14, the Astros are now three games above .500 and just two games behind the Seattle Mariners in the American League West. That’s after they finished April just 10-19.
Christian Walker Could Be the Best Trade Target for the Astros
For as long as the Astros are buyers and the Blue Jays apparent sellers, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be a popular name in trade speculation. But he’s due $19.9 million this year, and with one more year of arbitration, will be even more expensive to hang onto. Walker, on the other hand, is making $10.9 million this year and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
While Guerrero, who is much younger than Walker, would be the clear better move for the future, that’s not necessarily the case for the period Houston is concerned about right now: August to October 2024. Guerrero is hitting for a higher average (.296), but Walker’s power numbers are better.
Both players would require Houston to send a massive haul back to the Diamondbacks or Blue Jays, but Toronto would probably ask for more, as it would be dealing a younger player with another year of team control, who has generally been a more prominent face to his franchise.
The State of First Base in Houston
Since the Astros parted with Jose Abreu in mid-June, Jon Singleton has gotten the bulk of the reps at first base. By themselves, his numbers are underwhelming (.238 BA, 99 OPS+, -0.1 bWAR). But his bat has shown some life over the last two weeks.
In the nine games since June 21, Singleton his hitting .370 with a .970 OPS and an other-worldly .563 on balls in play. His hard contact rate is 41.2% in that time, compared to his 25.2% season average. He also has a 0% soft contact rate and his line drive percentage has ticked up a few points as well.
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