Christian Walker unsurprisingly declines Diamondbacks' qualifying offer
The Diamondbacks first baseman is officially a free agent after rejecting a $21.05 million qualifying offer.
In the least shocking news item of the day, Diamondbacks first baseman has declined his qualifying offer per MLB.com Senior Reporter Mark Feinsand. Instead of taking a one-year, $21.05 million deal, Walker will be hitting the free agent market at age 33.
This is a move that was to be expected, as Walker will be seeking a multiyear deal. By declining the qualifying offer, the D-backs could be in line for a Top 30 draft pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. With no Prospect Promotion Incentive picks, it’s likely that Arizona will pick in the 27-29 range. A post from the MLB Draft account on X lists Arizona first on the order, so it will be the No. 27 pick if Walker takes a $50 million deal or greater elsewhere.
Walker originally came to the Diamondbacks as a waiver claim, as he bounced around four different organizations before Arizona. He was outrighted to the minors in his first year but quickly established himself as a player to develop by winning the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2017. He eventually became the team’s starting first baseman during the 2019 season and never looked back.
In 819 career games with the D-backs, he put up a .251/.331/.464 triple slash (114 OPS+) with 146 home runs and 15.3 bWAR. He was also the standard on defense at his position, winning a Gold Glove in each of the past three seasons, tied with his predecessor, Paul Goldschmidt, for the most in franchise history.
The D-backs are likely to get priced out quickly for Walker’s services. MLB Trade Rumors projects him to get a three-year, $60 million deal on the open market. The story will also be updated once FanGraphs publishes the median crowd source numbers on their free agency tracker.
From a previous piece, I wrote about Walker’s hot free agent market. The D-backs are one of three teams named by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, along with the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees, as in the mix although he hinted at possibly as many as six teams could get in a hot market.
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Michael McDermott has been writing about the Arizona Diamondbacks, and their minor league system, for 9 seasons for AZ Snake Pit, Diamondbacks on SI, and Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X at x.com/michaelmcdmlb or at Bluesky.