After righting the ship in a big way over the last several weeks, the Houston Astros may be ready to make their move.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on Thursday that Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Christian Walker is thought to be the Astros’ “dream target” at the trade deadline. Heyman adds that Houston is ultimately hoping to add a starting pitcher as well as a hitter ahead of the July 30 deadline.
The righty-hitting Walker, 33, is a two-time Gold Glover at first base who has been with Arizona since 2017. He has come into his own over the last couple of years especially and went for 33 homers and 103 RBIs last season as the Diamondbacks pulled off their surprise NL pennant win. This season, Walker is batting .267 with 20 home runs and 59 RBIs through 86 games.
As for the Astros, they were seven games under .500 as recently as June 18 but have since ripped off a torrid run, winning 12 of their last 14 games. That has Houston firmly in buyer’s territory before the trade deadline and eyeing a move for Walker, who will be a free agent after the season. Still, the more pressing move for the Astros might be to add to their rotation since they have suffered injury blow after injury blow in that department this year.