It’s been just over a week since Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker officially became a free agent — and his market already appears to be heating up.
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Walker was the hottest name in free agency not named Juan Soto at the GM meetings in San Antonio this week. There are “at least six teams” that plan to make a run at the 33-year-old slugger, Nightengale added, with the Diamondbacks among them; the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals are two others. It’s early, but this does not sound like a recipe for Walker to return to Arizona.
The Diamondbacks did extend Walker a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer, which he has until Nov. 19 to accept or decline. He will likely reject it and test the open market.
If the Diamondbacks do not re-sign Walker, they will have a big hole to fill. Several other first basemen are available in free agency — including Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Justin Turner and Josh Bell — but the Diamondbacks could also canvas the trade market for a first baseman.
Here is a look at five reasonable trade candidates that could be attractive for Arizona.
1. Josh Naylor, Cleveland Guardians
Of the five names on this list, Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor is perhaps the most likely to be traded.
Naylor has one year of club control remaining, and MLB Trade Rumors projects him to make $12 million in arbitration. The small-market Guardians often trade core players before they reach free agency.
The Guardians also have a worthy replacement waiting in the wings in former top-100 prospect Kyle Manzardo. Manzardo made his big-league debut in 2025 and got better as the season progressed, with an .873 OPS after the All-Star break and an .842 OPS in the postseason.
Naylor, a 27-year-old left-handed hitter, slashed .243/.320/.456 in 2024 with 31 homers and 108 RBI in 152 games. Offensively, he and Walker have essentially been neck-and-neck for three straight years. In 2024, Naylor had a 118 wRC+ to Walker’s 119. Naylor’s best season offensively came in 2023, when he slashed .308/.354/.489 in 495 plate appearances.
While Naylor and Walker grade out similarly with the bat, Walker has the clear upper hand with the glove. Naylor was worth –6 defensive runs saved in 2024 and 1 out above average in 2024, compared to Walker’s 7 DRS and 13 OAA.
As for what the Guardians would want in return, outfield and starting pitching appear to be areas of need. The Diamondbacks have depth in both areas.
On paper, the price tag for Naylor figures to be relatively low; he only has one year of control left, and he does not figure to produce much surplus value above his projected $12 million salary in 2025. Nonetheless, Naylor is a key component of a fairly shaky Guardians’ lineup, and Cleveland might prefer to keep him.
2. Nathaniel Lowe, Texas Rangers
After reportedly receiving interest in first baseman Nathaniel Lowe at the trade deadline in July, the Texas Rangers decided to keep him. Now, according to DLLS Rangers beat writer Jeff Wilson, the Rangers are exploring alternatives at the position in 2025 and beyond. That could make Lowe available in a trade.
A 29-year-old left-handed hitter, Lowe slashed .265/.361/.401 in 2024 with 16 homers and 69 RBI in 140 games. He had a 121 wRC+ to Walker’s 119. Lowe has two years of club control remaining. He is expected to make around $10 million in arbitration in 2025.
While Lowe does not have Walker’s power, he draws plenty of walks and owns an excellent career on-base percentage of .356. Lowe’s 2022 season was spectacular; he hit .302/.358/.492 with 27 homers in 157 games. He has not had another season like it, but he has graded out as a solidly above-average hitter every year of his career.
No one measures up to Walker defensively, but Lowe has shown significant progress on that side of the ball since his debut in 2019. Last year, he won the AL Gold Glove Award. In 2024, he had 1 DRS and 7 OAA and was named a Gold Glove finalist.
Perhaps Lowe is not the middle-of-the-order run producer that Walker is, but he figures to be a more-than-adequate replacement. The fact that Lowe comes with two years of club control might make it easier to part with meaningful trade assets.
Like the Guardians, the Rangers’ offseason wish list includes starting pitching and outfield help. Perhaps there could be a fit with Arizona.
3. Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays held something of a fire sale at the 2024 trade deadline, dealing star outfielder Randy Arozarena, starter Zach Eflin, third baseman Isaac Parades and a pair of top relievers in Jason Adam and Phil Maton. Rumors also swirled surrounding first baseman Yandy Diaz, but they opted to keep him. Perhaps the Rays will revisit those trade talks this winter.
Diaz, 33, has two years of club control remaining. He is owed $10 million in 2025 and has a $12 million club option with no buyout for 2026. Like the Guardians, the Rays often trade veterans before they reach free agency. According to Spotrac, they carried the third-lowest payroll in baseball in 2024.
By his standards, Diaz is coming off a down year. In 145 games in 2024, he hit .281/.341/.414 with 14 homers and 65 RBI. His 120 wRC+ was hardly poor, but it paled in comparison to his 163 wRC+ in 2023 and his 145 mark in 2022.
A quick glance at Diaz’s batted ball data shows an uptick in ground-ball rate to 55.5 percent in 2024 that could explain his diminished offense. Diaz has run fairly high ground-ball rates in the past (50 percent in 2022, 52.2 percent in 2023), but it’s difficult to be an elite hitter with that figure in the mid-50s. Perhaps that problem is fixable. Diaz still crushed the ball when he made contact and rarely struck out in 2024.
Defensively, Diaz has never been stellar, and his metrics are moving in the wrong direction. In 2024, he had a career-worst –5 DRS and –3 OAA in 112 games at first base. He appeared as a DH in 30 games. Should the Diamondbacks acquire him, it might be a good idea to get him off his feet on a regular basis at DH.
Per a report from Francys Romero, the Rays asked for four players in exchange for Diaz at the deadline. The price tag figures to be high this winter, too. Nonetheless, Diaz is just one year removed from slashing .330/.410/.522 and winning the AL batting title. He has a chance to be more than just a replacement for Walker.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic included “inexpensive left-handed hitters” on a list of offseason priorities for the Rays. The Diamondbacks have several players that fit that description in Alek Thomas, Jake McCarthy and switch-hitter Jorge Barrosa, who spent most of 2024 in the minors. Depending on Tampa’s opinion of Pavin Smith’s outfield defense, he could also be of interest.
4. Ryan Mountcastle, Baltimore Orioles
Even after trading outfielders Austin Hays and Kyle Stowers and infielders Corner Norby and Joey Ortiz over the past year, the Baltimore Orioles still have a fairly crowded position player situation, particularly in the infield. Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they reportedly listened to trade offers for first baseman Ryan Mountcastle at the trade deadline — and figure to do so again this winter.
Mountcastle, 27, has two years of club control remaining and is projected to make $6.6 million in 2025 in arbitration.
In 2024, the right-handed slugger slashed .271/.308/.425 with 13 homers, 63 RBI and 1.5 fWAR. Mountcastle has elite bat speed and belted 33 homers in 2021, but he has never posted more than 1.8 fWAR in a single season. He has been consistently above average, however, with a wRC+ of 108 or higher in every year of his career.
It’s worth noting that Mountcastle has underperformed his expected stats by a relatively wide margin for three straight years. In 2024, his expected slugging percentage based on his batted ball metrics was .455 — well above his actual slugging percentage of .425. In 2023, his expected slugging percentage was .503 compared to his actual mark of .452. The Orioles’ decision to move their left field fence back in 2022 seemingly did Mountcastle no favors.
Underlying metrics aside, Mountcastle has proven that he can crush lefties. He hit .306/.350/.463 against lefties in 2024 compared to a .257/.291/.410 line against righties. His ability to hit south paws could make him a nice pairing with Smith, who crushed righties over a small sample in 2024. Mountcastle’s numbers against same-sided pitchers are also strong enough that a platoon would not be absolutely necessary.
Defensively, Mountcastle graded out fairly well in 2024, with 8 DRS and 2 OAA at first base.
The Orioles will look to add pitching this offseason; the Diamondbacks might need to tap into their rotation depth to facilitate a deal. Baltimore also could lose slugging outfielder Anthony Santander in free agency this winter, so perhaps the Diamondbacks’ outfield depth would appeal to them as well.
5. Rhys Hoskins, Milwaukee Brewers
The first year of Rhys Hoskins’ contract with the Milwaukee Brewers did not go as planned. After missing all of the 2023 season with a torn ACL while he was with the Philadelphia Phillies, Hoskins slashed .214/.303/.419 with 26 homers, 82 RBI and just 0.1 fWAR in 2024.
Last week, Hoskins exercised his $18 million player option to remain with the Brewers for 2025. He also has an $18 million mutual option for 2026 that carries a $4 million buyout.
It is not a favorable contract, and the Brewers — baseball’s smallest market team — are seemingly stuck with it; unless, of course, they eat some money and move him elsewhere.
To be clear, such a move seems quite unlikely. Why would the Diamondbacks — or any team — want any part of this contract?
Two reasons come to mind. First off, if Milwaukee pays down, say, half of the money, Hoskins would likely become one of the more affordable first base options that the Diamondbacks have this winter. Even if Hoskins does not improve next year, he could be a nice platoon partner with the left-handed hitting Smith at first base.
Second, it is not all that hard to imagine Hoskins turning things around in 2025. Prior to the injury, he was one of the more consistent hitters in the league. Returning to form after an ACL tear can take time. Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. was a shell of himself in 2022 after suffering an ACL tear the season prior. The following year, he won the NL MVP and posted the first 40-homer, 70-stolen-base season in MLB history.
Of course, there are no guarantees that Hoskins will bounce back as Acuña did. His underlying metrics were far from promising in 2024. Even if Hoskins does bounce back offensively, his defense graded out poorly in 2025 and was not particularly good before the injury either. Whichever team has him in 2025 might be wise to limit his first base reps as much as they can.
Nonetheless, Hoskins would have some value on the open market. Maybe the Brewers would like to save what they can and move on instead of bringing him back for another year.
Top photo: Scott Galvin/Imagn Images
