Christian Walker's days with the Astros suddenly feel numbered

Since the MLB trade deadline, it's felt like Christian Walker's time with the Houston Astros was going to wind up being one-and-done, and the team may have provided confirmation of that reality over the weekend. In the middle of their biggest series of the season, the Astros did not have Walker in their starting lineup on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners.

Signing a three-year deal with the Astros worth $60MM last offseason, Walker hasn't exactly provided stability to an Astros lineup that has been without Yordan Álvarez for most of the season, and injuries that had previously sidelined Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes for several weeks.

Arriving at the final week of the regular season, after the Mariners swept the Astros this weekend, Walker had a slash line of .232/.294/.399 with a wRC+ of 92 and 23 home runs. The regression in Walker's power numbers this season appears to be at the center of his struggles and could be the reason why he is the odd man out this offseason.

Astros may be preparing for a future that no longer includes Christian Walker

The return of Paredes over the weekend reminded Astros fans that the Carlos Correa trade at the deadline created an infield conundrum that needs to be addressed this offseason. Correa and his contract aren't going anywhere, Peña is making the case for an extension, and Paredes is a perfect offensive fit for playing half of his games with the Crawford Boxes in left field.

The assumption is that Paredes will take over first base after this season, with Correa remaining at third base. The Astros may not have been ready to trade Walker at the deadline, but after Joe Espada decided to take him out of the starting lineup on Saturday, the stance of the front office may have changed.

Walker and Espada were asked about the decision, and it was chalked up to being a matchup-based move. Walker even defended his season while admitting it hasn't gone exactly how he planned.

“All things considered where I started, I’m proud of the season and how it’s gone,” Walker said. “I think it would’ve been easy to just roll over and accept a s—- year for what it is, but to get the homer totals up in the 20s — the average is hard to move once the bulk gets high enough — but all things considered, it’s not the year I planned but I’m still proud of what I threw out there.”

Plenty of answers will be needed from the Astros' front office after the season, especially if they wind up missing the playoffs. While some think that could place Espada on the hot seat, Walker may be the scapegoat when it comes to underperforming players this season.

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