“At least six teams…plan to aggressively pursue” free agent first baseman Christian Walker, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, adding that the Yankees, Nationals, and Diamondbacks are some of the teams involved in the hunt. The Mets are mentioned as perhaps more of a peripheral suitor, as Nightengale speculates that the Mets could chase Walker if Pete Alonso isn’t re-signed.
Ranked 13th on MLBTR’s list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, Walker is projected for a three-year, $60MM deal, with the shorter-term nature of that contract reflecting the fact that Walker will be 34 on Opening Day. Even as he gets deeper into his 30’s, however, Walker hasn’t shown much sign of slowing down. Over the last three seasons, the first baseman has hit .250/.332/.481 with 95 home runs over 1880 plate appearances with Arizona, which works out to a solid 120 wRC+. On top of that offense comes standout defense, as Walker has won the last three NL Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible awards in 2022-23 for his superb work at first base.
Because Walker will likely be getting a relatively short contract, any number of teams could conceivably be in the market for his services beyond just the usual big spenders. This could help the Diamondbacks (who have roughly $157.5MM already on the books for 2025) stay in the bidding, and one would imagine Arizona might have some extra advantage since Walker has stated that he has enjoyed his time with the D’Backs. Since Walker was issued a qualifying offer that he is sure to reject, a new team would have to give up draft picks and possibly international bonus pool money to sign him, whereas the Diamondbacks would face no penalty for re-signing their own free agent.
Retaining Walker would immediately patch a big hole in an Arizona lineup that could also be losing Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk in free agency. Pavin Smith hit well in 2024 and might be an interesting backup plan (in at least a platoon capacity) at first base if Walker left, though in the event that Walker returned, the D’Backs could then more comfortably view Smith a replacement for Pederson’s left-handed bat.
The Yankees also have a clear need at first base since Anthony Rizzo isn’t expected to be re-signed, and DJ LeMahieu has been in sharp decline over the last two seasons. Walker would bring more pop into New York’s lineup, and shore up the infield defense that suddenly became an issue during the World Series. (For what it’s worth, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald both predicted Walker would sign with the Yankees within the top 50 list’s projections.)
Signing a QO-rejecting free agent comes at a particularly stiff price for the Yankees, as since they exceeded the luxury tax threshold, they’d have to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus money. This isn’t necessarily a roadblock for New York if the club particularly likes what Walker can offer, and the Yankees might have an edge of their own on the qualifying offer front since they wouldn’t have to give up picks to re-sign Juan Soto. It has been speculated that the Yankees might turn to Alonso as the backup plan if Soto goes elsewhere, yet even in that scenario, New York might still prefer Walker due to the lower price tag and greater all-around value, as Alonso is only a passable defender.
Washington is perhaps the most interesting of the three known suitors, as unlike the D’Backs and Yankees, it has been a while since the Nats were in contention. The club’s rebuild process has brought some very interesting younger building blocks (James Wood, CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, MacKenzie Gore, Luis Garcia Jr., etc.) to the District, and with Wood and Crews now in the majors, there have been rumblings that the Nats are ready to turn the corner back towards contention. Signing Walker would have some echos of the Nationals’ signing of Jayson Werth during the 2010-11 offseason, as that big-ticket addition signaled that the Nats were going to start competing after years of rebuilding.
President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has openly stated that the Nationals are looking for more pop in the middle of the lineup, and first base is the logical position for such an upgrade. Washington received a cumulative 0.3 bWAR from their first basemen in 2024, and the club has already started clearing space at the position by parting ways with Joey Gallo and Joey Meneses.
Since the Nationals weren’t luxury tax payors and don’t receive revenue sharing, they face the mid-range penalty for signing a qualified free agent — their second-highest 2025 draft pick and $500K in international pool money. The overall payroll impact for Walker can be easily absorbed since Washington has only Keibert Ruiz’s contract on the books, in addition to the two remaining years’ worth of salary still owed to Stephen Strasburg.