Astros May Be in Serious Trouble Due to Huge Contract For Disappointing Star

The Houston Astros may wind up being boxed in this winter after a brutal deal from last year.

Aug 20, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of the hat and glove of Houston Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker (not pictured) against the Atlanta Braves in the eleventh inning at Truist Park. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros' season ended without a playoff appearance for the first time in nearly a decade, after they simply ran out of steam down the stretch, following a brutal run of injury luck all year long.

Despite the standard of success that has been established with this franchise, even being in the playoff conversation during baseball's final week was somewhat of an accomplishment, given what they went through this year.

Regardless, the page has now already turned to the offseason and how Houston not only fixes things in free agency as well as the trade market, but also how they get back to competing for championships. Last year, they signed a massive piece who they thought was going to help them do just that after failing to make the ALCS in 2024, but unfortunately that was not the case this year.

In fact, it was quite the contrary, and it could wind up costing them now this offseason with regards to money to spend.

Astros May Have Messed Up Big Time with Huge Christian Walker Deal

Sep 27, 2025; Anaheim, California, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (8) forced out at first base against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

With the season now over, Houston is finally off the hook for the absolute disaster that was the José Abreu contract, paying him $19 million this past season simply to go away. One would think this would allow the team to be less buttoned up with spending this upcoming winter, but Abreu's replacement Christian Walker has not worked out either despite a big deal of his own.

Walker signed a three-year, $60 million contract with the Astros last season and proceeded to struggle all season long with consistency, never really getting anything going. In a recent article, Drew Koch of FanSided pointed out that the deal for Walker may wind up preventing Houston from spending big this upcoming offseason, even with the renewed freedom from Abreu's deal ending.

"Unfortunately, Christian Walker's three-year, $60 million deal signed this past offseason threatens to thrust Houston back into a troublesome contract situation," Koch wrote. "Walker was not worth the $20 million AAV Houston forked over this past winter, but unfortunately, the Astros still owe their first baseman $40 million over the next two seasons."

Walker's First Season with Astros Was Disaster

Jun 25, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker (8) looks on after striking out in the in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Daikin Park. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

While he was able to stay healthy for the most part (154 games played), Walker simply did not have the kind of impact Houston hoped he would. Slashing .238/.297/.421, Walker posted a very underwhelming bWAR of just 0.2 this year.

For reference, Walker averaged nearly a 3.8 bWAR over the last three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks before coming to the Astros. For whatever reason, he simply was not himself all year long and was never able to establish enough positive performances to really get going.

The good news here is that the numbers for the 34-year-old were better over the second half than the first with a slash line of .250/.312/.488 alongside 15 home runs and 41 RBI in his final 64 games.

Perhaps Walker can carry over some of that momentum into next season, but regardless of whether he does or not, Houston cannot afford to let another unfortunate deal scare them away from making some big moves this time around.

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