San Francisco Giants Could Steal Christian Walker From Division Rival

The San Francisco Giants could try to steal star first baseman Christian Walker from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Allan Henry-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants enter the offseason with the goal of fixing a franchise that has fallen on hard times and missed the postseason in seven of the last eight years

After winning three World Series titles in five years to begin the 2010s, there has been a severe drop off and the team has qualified for the playoffs just twice in the decade since their last championship.

In an effort to reinvigorate the organization, Buster Posey takes over as president of baseball operations and faces the monumental task of getting the team back to relevance.

The first step towards accomplishing that task is conquering the teams in their own division, and while the Dodgers aren't going anywhere anytime soon, one of the teams the Giants have also finished consistently behind recently is the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Diamondbacks reached the World Series in 2023 after finishing second in the division and claiming the final wild card berth. Despite finishing third in 2024 and narrowly missing the playoffs, they were still nine games ahead of San Francisco.

One of the reasons for that has been three-time Gold Glove winning first baseman Christian Walker, but Manny Randhawa of MLB.com thinks the Giants could look to steal Walker away in free agency this winter.

The reason? Well it's pretty simple. The Giants have had a player hit 30 or more home runs in 20 years, since Barry Bonds did it. The projected options on the roster, LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores aren't power hitters. It's a positon that demands power and defense, and Walker can supply both.

"San Francisco could look to upgrade there with Walker, who consistently put up big numbers with the division-rival D-backs the past several years," he wrote.

Walker's 26 home runs in 2024 represented his lowest total since 2021, but it was still more than the 25 that LaMonte Wade Jr. has hit over the last two seasons combined. With 95 home runs over the last three years, Walker presents an immediate upgrade from Wade Jr. both on offense and defense.

Plus, given Walker's age, he may only require a two- or three-year deal, which wouldn't stand in the way of top prospect Bryce Eldridge's progress to the Majors.

Recent reports suggested Wade Jr. is on the trade block, and if San Francisco could get a nice return from him and also sign Walker, it would be a fantastic step towards improving the roster and putting them in a spot to be more competitive in 2025.