Known Dodgers killer leaves NL West in free agency for another sworn enemy

In his eight years as a Diamondback, Christian Walker loved playing against the Dodgers. He's played 90 games against them and has a career .250 average and .862 OPS off of LA's pitchers; the only National League West team he's better against is the Rockies, and the Coors Factor has to come in a little bit there.

Out of his 147 career homers, 27 (nearly 20%) have come against the Dodgers. He also picked up three RBI against LA in the 2023 NLDS, one of which was a solo homer off of Lance Lynn that contributed to the Diamondbacks' four-run rally in third inning of Game 3 which eventually led Arizona to a sweep.

Walker hit free agency after declining the qualifying offer from the D-backs. Despite the fact that he'll be 34 when the 2025 season begins, he's easily been one of the most sought-after first basemen on the market.

Dodgers fans certainly wanted to see him leave the NL West (preferably the National League altogether), but where he ended up will only make him even more of a Dodgers enemy. On Friday, Walker and the Astros agreed to a three-year, $60 million contract.

Christian Walker signs three-year, $60 million deal with Astros after leaving Diamondbacks in free agency

Walker's signing pretty much closes the door on Alex Bregman returning to Houston, with the general consensus being that they'll move Isaac Paredes to third base. It also spells an end to their attempt at a Nolan Arenado trade, which Arenado blocked on Wednesday.

His three years and $60 million matched up perfectly with MLB Trade Rumors' projection, and fell short of Spotrac's predicted $66 million and The Athletic's $72 million.

Other than the trade that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, this is the Astros' first big offseason move. They've been without a great option for first base ever since the beginning of the 2024 season, when José Abreu took one of the most unpleasant falls from grace you'll find in recent history. Walker has been consistently good since 2022 and even received MVP votes in 2023, and he's exactly what the Astros needed to send a message to the rest of the league that might not actually be waving a white flag on the 2025 season.

The Dodgers will only see the Astros once next year, for a three-game set on Fourth of July weekend. They should probably expect him to continue hitting well against them, but at least it'll only be through one series now, instead of four.