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Christian Walker's role with the Houston Astros has come into question after the MLB trade deadline, considering there were reports that he was almost involved in the Carlos Correa trade with the Twins. While the Astros were not ready to admit their mistake, the fact is they are looking at another contract for an aging first baseman that doesn't look great on their books.
Turning 35 before the start of the 2026 season, Walker is set to earn $20MM in each of the next two seasons. The troubling part about that reality is that regression seemed to have hit Walker to start the 2025 season.
Through the first three months of the season, Walker was slashing .213/.278/.357 with 10 home runs and a 77 wRC+. The struggles of Walker are a large part of the reason why the Astros were in need of offensive help at the deadline. There is no question that the Astros' starting lineup has been reshaped following the deadline, but the team is finally seeing a revival from Walker.
Christian Walker’s rough start with Astros suddenly looks less disastrous
Since the calendar flipped to July, Walker entered Wednesday with a slash line of .299/.353/.486 with 5 home runs and a wRC+ of 133 over his last 119 plate appearances and that was before homering on Wednesday. Even with Correa in the fold, he's not the All-Star shortstop he was before his initial departure from Houston. With Isaac Paredes still nowhere close to a return, the Astros will need Walker to continue his offensive turnaround if they are going to be a legitimate contender in the postseason.
Walker's turnaround also may change the conversation regarding what the Astros will do during the offseason. By refusing to trade him to the Twins, it's clear the Astros still believe in the veteran first baseman. That said, they still will need to find a way to make an infield work that includes a returning Paredes, Correa, and Walker. It's hard, at this point, to rule out Walker being shopped this winter, but the Astros could also move one of Paredes or Correa to second base.