When the Houston Astros signed Christian Walker this past offseason, they expected All-Star-caliber production, and it's hard to blame them. Walker, underratedly, was one of the best first basemen in the National League for the better part of a half-decade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he had averaged roughly 32 home runs in his final three seasons with the D-Backs.
Instead, Walker has hit just 13 home runs, has an 87 WRC+, and has been worth just 0.1 fWAR so far this season. It goes without saying that with Walker struggling, the Astros need to add an infusion of power elsewhere.
To be clear, there's no replacing Walker. The Astros gave him a three-year deal worth $60 million; it's far too early to cut him, and there isn't a team out there that'd show any interest in trading for him. He's almost certainly going to be the team's everyday first baseman, at least for the remainder of this season. The Astros can, however, make a trade for someone like Ryan O'Hearn, a player FanSided's Robert Murray linked to them, and find a place to add his big bat in their lineup, complementing Walker and Co.
If the Astros were to trade for O'Hearn, here's what a deal with the Baltimore Orioles might look like.
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Astros would be wise to trade for Ryan O'Hearn
In this deal, the Astros would acquire O'Hearn, a perfect fit for their lineup. In the short-term, Houston can use him primarily as a DH, as Yordan Alvarez is still on the Injured List. When Alvarez is healthy, O'Hearn can play in left field, with Walker etched in as the first baseman. O'Hearn won't provide stellar defense by any means, but he was an All-Star this season because of his bat, and his left-handed swing can add some much-needed balance to a right-handed heavy lineup.
Normally, an All-Star might cost a lot to acquire, but there are three factors to keep in mind. First and foremost, O'Hearn will be a free agent after the year, meaning the Astros will only have him under control for a couple of months. Second, while O'Hearn owns right-handed pitching, he has a .597 OPS against lefties this season, and he's never hit southpaws at the MLB level. Third, as mentioned above, O'Hearn provides very little defensive value. In an ideal world, he'd be a DH just about every day. To sum up, O'Hearn is really a DH that the Astros should only be using against right-handers, and he's a player who will only be with the team for a couple of months. His value is not very high.
With that in mind, the Astros, a team with one of the worst farm systems in the game, can trade for him while also addressing other needs.
AJ Blubaugh entered the 2025 campaign with a good amount of hype, as evidenced by his No. 9 placement on Houston's top 30 prospect list per MLB Pipeline, but his ERA is just barely below 6.00 in Triple-A this season. As poorly as this season has gone for the 25-year-old, though, getting out of the PCL could prove to be beneficial. As we know, the Orioles need as much pitching as they can get, and they can do much worse than taking a flier on Blubaugh, who might be ready to pitch in the Majors right away for Baltimore.
Joining Blubaugh in the deal is Parker Smith, who should be seen as more of a lottery ticket type of prospect. Smith, a fourth-round pick of Houston's in the 2024 MLB Draft, made his professional debut this season and has pitched well, posting a 2.45 ERA in 10 appearances (seven starts), the last seven of which have come in Single-A after he began the year in Rookie Ball. Smith is still a way's away from being close to MLB-ready, but for a pitching-needy organization, he's a fine lottery ticket to take.
Overall, the Orioles don't have much leverage here with O'Hearn. He's set to hit free agency after the year, so they have to just get what they can for him in what's been a lost season for the organization. Blubaugh and Smith have enough upside to make trading O'Hearn worthwhile for the O's, and aren't valuable enough to the Astros to prevent them from making this deal.