The frozen first-base market finally started to thaw Friday, with reports that Christian Walker has agreed to a three-year, $60 million deal with the Houston Astros. While Pete Alonso remains the premium option available among his positional peers, Walker is the first from a deep first-base free-agent class to find a new home, with the right-handed slugger securing a multi-year deal from a Houston club that has been awfully busy of late.
The Astros’ signing of Walker comes on the heels of reports that Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado recently exercised his no-trade clause to block an agreed-upon deal between Houston and St. Louis that would’ve sent the 10-time Gold Glover to H-Town. Such a deal would have, in theory, moved Isaac Paredes — acquired from Chicago in the Kyle Tucker blockbuster — to first base, with Arenado supplanting long-term star Alex Bregman at the hot corner. Instead, Arenado said no, sending Houston back to the drawing board.
Additional reporting signaled that Arenado’s decision did not necessarily doom the possibility of him ending up in Houston this offseason but, rather, suggested that the third baseman, who is still widely expected to be dealt, did not want to green-light a deal at this stage, preferring to wait and see what other potential landing spots might surface. Rather than waiting to learn if Arenado would reemerge as a viable option later this winter — or continue to engage with Bregman as he seeks a massive deal in free agency — the Astros have seemingly addressed both corner infield spots, with Walker at first and Paredes primed to remain at his more native spot on the other side of the diamond.
If this indeed closes the door on Bregman’s time in Houston, what a run it was. His landing spot now becomes one of the bigger storylines left to play out this winter. And beyond Bregman, Walker’s signing amplifies the spotlight on Alonso, the other premier position player remaining on the free-agent market. A reunion in Queens would seem to still be in play, but Walker coming off the board might prompt other teams in need of a first baseman to more seriously consider Alonso as an impact addition at the position.
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For Walker, this lucrative deal is the culmination of quite the baseball journey. His power prowess dates back to his amateur days, first as a Pennsylvania high schooler who won a 2009 home run derby that also famously featured Bryce Harper and…