M’s Free Agency: Why Christian Walker is the 1B Seattle should pursue

There will be plenty of avenues for the Seattle Mariners to take when it comes to trying to improve their offense this offseason.

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The Mariners have multiple holes to fill in their lineup and a few that stick out clearly: first base, second base and third base.

During his weekly appearance on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, MLB Network insider Jon Morosi made the case that the Mariners should seriously pursue former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.

“He played on the (2023) World Series team for the Diamondbacks,” Morosi said. “Obviously (Seattle backup catcher Mitch) Garver played in the same World Series, ironically enough, (but) I like (Walker’s) approach. I think his approach is a little more to all fields and I think he’s maybe a better pure hitter than Garver is. He’s also a very good defender and quite athletic.”

Walker, who will be 34 next season, is one of the top first baseman on the market this offseason and received a qualifying offer from the Diamondbacks. New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who turns 30 next month, is thought of as the best available free agent at first base, but Morosi sees Walker as a better fit in Seattle.

“There’s a case to be made that for the right team in the right situation, that they might almost rather have Walker than Pete Alonso. And to be honest with you, the Mariners strike me as one of those teams,” Morosi said. “I don’t know that I’d recommend that they go six or seven years for Alonso if they feel as though they can get Walker for three or four years. Is Alonso a better slugger than Walker? Yeah, he is. But Walker is more athletic, he’s not going to cost you as much in either years or dollars, and that to me would be a smart play.

“And I think that’s honestly a fair expectation for Mariner fans to have for the front office. You don’t necessarily have to win the bidding for a (Juan) Soto or an Alonso, but get into the conversation, find a way to win the bidding for Christian Walker.”

Who is Christian Walker?

Walker had quite the journey before becoming an MLB regular and three-time Gold Glove winner at first base. He started his career in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization but was designated for assignment at the start of spring training in 2017. He then spent short stints with the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds in spring training that year before ultimately ending up with the Diamondbacks and spending most of the season in Triple-A.

After star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, Walker became Arizona’s full-time first baseman in 2019 and has held the job since.

Walker has posted an OPS over .800 in each of the past three seasons while also winning the National League Gold Glove at his position. He slugged a career-best 36 home runs in 2022 and drove in a career-high 103 runs in 2023.

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In 130 games last season, the right-handed-hitting Walker slashed .251/.335/.468 with 26 home runs, 26 doubles, 84 RBIs, 44 walks, 133 strikeouts and a 121 OPS+. His 24.1% strikeout rate ranked in 36th percentile and his 10% walk rate in the 73rd, according to Baseball Savant.

Furthermore, he’s produced at least 3.0 fWAR in each of the past three seasons and is tied for fifth among MLB first baseman with a combined 10.8 during that span, which is better than Alonso and Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Walker’s age is a concern. He turns 34 at the start of next season and is the same age as Garver, a 2023-24 offseason signee who saw his numbers steeply decline last season. But Morosi feels Walker is better set up to keep producing in his mid-30s.

“I think for a number of reasons I would look to Christian Walker as being a player who’s a little easier to project than what Mitch Garver was,” Morosi said. “I think he’s a better all-around player, honestly, and I think he’ll get a bigger contract than what Garver got, but I think it’s one that the Mariners – when you consider how inexpensive their pitching has been – can handle.”

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Wyman and Bob weekdays from 2-6 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More Seattle Mariners offseason coverage

• Free Agency Refresh: Players added to market Mariners could target
• Why Morosi calls KBO infielder a ‘fantastic’ target for Mariners
• Could Mariners look to Alex Bregman as the answer at 2B?
• Which notable former Mariners are free agents this offseason?
• Seattle Mariners’ George Kirby among MLB’s early arbitration qualifiers

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