5:17PM : Nightengale his earlier report, saying that it was the Twins who first floated Walkers name and the Astros who pa sed on moving the first baseman. 2:56PM : The Astros and Twins pulled off a in the final hours before the deadline that brought three-time All-Star infielder back home to the team that he spent the first seven seasons of his career with. The deal sent Correa to Houston in exchange for pitching prospect , with the Twins retaining $33MM of the $103.4MM remaining on Correas contract. provided additional details on the Correa negotiations this morning. Most notably, Nightengale writes that the sides talked about including veteran first baseman as part of the return headed to Minnesota in exchange for Correas services. He adds that while the Twins had the opportunity to acquire Walker as part of the deal, they pa sed on taking the final two years and $40MM of his contract on. Thats not exactly a shocking decision. Given that Mikulski is a 26-year-old who has not yet even reached the Double-A level, its fair to view the Correa deal as a pure salary dump for Minnesota. Previous reporting has indicated that the Twins are more than $400MM in debt, and Nightengale writes that the club has lost $40MM this year. That would make adding a larger contract like that of Walker counterproductive in most scenarios. Perhaps there was a version of the deal where the Twins retained le Jason Richardson Jersey s of Correas salary while taking on Walkers contract, but given his mediocre 2025 campaign (96 wRC+, 0.6 fWAR) and the fact that hes already 34 years old its understandable that the Twins wouldnt be too interested in adding him at the beginning of a rebuild that might not end until Walker has already hit free agency. Theres at least an argument to be made that he wouldve been a worthwhile addition to the club based on their lack of a long-term solution at the position, however. is currently serving as the clubs first baseman and has blasted 12 homers in 65 games since landing in Minnesota, but is a career 82 wRC+ hitter in 222 big league games who seems unlikely to sustain that sort of production. and are both capable of playing the position and have past big league succe s but poor performance has relegated them to the minors for much of the year. That could make the veteran consistency Walker could provide quite attractive in theory, especially after the lo s of Correa and others from the clubhouse could leave a dearth of veteran leadership in the clubhouse outside of franchise face . On the other hand, Walker lacks much upside; even his best seasons with the Diamondbacks saw him peak at a wRC+ of around 120, and the Twins could likely find a younger, cheaper alternative who has more of a chance to develop into a middle-of-the-order force if they were interested in doing so this offseason. While the Twins may not have been a fit for Walkers services, Nightengale suggests that the veteran might get shopped by the Astros this winter in a bid to make room for infielder as first base next year. Thats a sensible a sumption based on the composition of the clubs roster. While the idea of Paredes moving to second was briefly floated last offseason, theres been a great deal of skepticism since then about his viability as a defender at third base. must be penciled in as the clubs DH even after a 2025 season that has been mostly lost to injury, and with a former Gold Glove shortstop in Correa whos eager to move to third base in deference to fellow Gold Glove shortstop there isnt room for Paredes on the left side of the infield anymore. At the same time, Paredess bat is much too important to lose from the lineup. The two-time All-Star has hit an impre sive .259/.359/.470 with 19 homers, 15 doubles, and triple in 96 games for the Astros this year. The third baseman is expected to mi s the remainder of the 2025 season at this point, so fitting him into the lineup is not a concern in the short-term. First base seems like by far the most logical fit the slugger for the 2026 season, however. Paredes is under team control through the end of the 2027 season, so hell need to find a new long-term home in Houston with Correa set to take over the hot corner. That will likely make Walker expendable this offseason. Hes certainly not had the season either side was hoping for when he signed with the Astros on a three-year, $60MM deal this past offseason. Back in June, wrote about the lackluster start Walker had to his Astros career. Hes begun to turn things around since then, with a strong .288/.352/.466 (129 wRC+) slash line in 186 plate appearances since that article was published, but the concerns discu sed in that piece still ring true. Walker is an aging, pricey veteran on a multi-year contract who has begun to show signs of decline. Its not the easiest profile to find a suitor for, but perhaps there will be a team in need of help at first base this winter with whom the club can work out a trade particularly if theyre willing to pay down some of Walkers remaining salary. The veterans play over the seasons final two months and into the postseason figures to have a major influence over how feasible an offseason trade will end up being and how much money, if any, the Astros would have to retain in order to move him. If Houstons front office doesnt find an offer they deem acceptable for Walker, there are other avenues to working out the infield logjam, though each presents some i sues. Perhaps Paredes could see some time at second base despite defensive questions. Its po sible that Walker could get some playing time at DH on days Alvarez plays the outfield, with at second base. A trade of Paredes could even theoretically be considered, especially if a similarly well-regarded and controllable outfielder was available in return. As the Astros demonstrated for , theyre also not opposed to simply cutting ties with a struggling veteran who no longer fits the clubs needs, though Walker would surely need to take an extreme turn for the worse in order for that option to be on the table. Alen Smailagic Jersey