Did Houston Astros Go After Wrong First Baseman During This Past Offseason?

The Houston Astros are hoping Christian Walker gets going at the plate soon.

It's the only way they are truly going to become contenders in the American League after their offensive ceiling was lowered following the offseason departures of Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker.

While Walker is far from the only player in the lineup who is struggling for the Astros, the fact that he signed a three-year, $60 million deal and has an OPS+ that's 49 points below the league average with just two homers and four RBI through 21 games is troubling.

So much so that fans are getting nightmare flashbacks to the Jose Abreu situation that is still haunting the franchise.

With these struggles by Walker on full display, is it fair to wonder if Houston went after the wrong first baseman this past winter?

In the mind of Drew Koch of Climbing Tal's Hill, that is the case.

But it's not someone like Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana or even Josh Bell he believes they should have gone after.

It's Josh Naylor, who was dealt this offseason to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

"... the former All-Star has been tearing it up out in the desert ... Trading for Naylor would've also been far less costly. The D-backs first baseman, who's also an above-average defender, is taking home almost 50% less than what Walker's $20 million salary this season. Just think about the upgrades to the Astros bullpen, rotation, or outfield Houston's front office could have made with an extra $10 million to spend," he wrote.

That's certainly interesting to think about.

Houston has been very money conscious under the ownership of Jim Crane, and while he's not been cheap by any means, they have largely operated with a budget under the luxury tax threshold.

With that in mind, why the front office didn't think to put together a package for someone like Naylor is a bit baffling, especially because they were already active on the trade front throughout the offseason.

Now, it should also be noted that the pitching staff of the Astros isn't the problem right now.

Entering play on Monday, they have the 10th-best ERA amongst all Major League pitching staffs, with the bullpen carrying the load with a mark of 2.37 that's fourth in the MLB, while their starters rank 18th with an ERA of 4.16.

If anything, the extra money they would have saved by trading for Naylor instead of signing Walker would have been given to an outfielder to keep Jose Altuve at second base.

All of the conversation surrounding Walker will change if his bats start to heat up.

While Naylor looks like he would have been a better addition right now, the ceiling that Walker possesses is much higher than that of the new Diamondbacks slugger. So Houston will continue to be patient with their new star, hoping they get the best version of him down in Texas after he left the confines of the Arizona desert.

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