Baltimore Orioles: Former Oriole Christian Walker having success with D-Backs

The Baltimore Orioles are in Arizona for a three-game set against the Diamondbacks and a handful of former Orioles, including Christian Walker.

It is no secret the Baltimore Orioles struck out with the massive seven-year/$161 million contract they gave first baseman Chris Davis before the 2016 season.

Davis’ play since signing the deal has declined and 2019 has been yet another nightmare for the former slugger as he is hitting .192 with just seven home runs, a shocking number for a guy who on paper is the perfect player to be mashing in the “juiced ball” era.

Davis’ salary has weighed down the Orioles and kept them from keeping some important players such as Jonathan Schoop and Manny Machado, and as the Birds are in Arizona for a series against the Diamondbacks, they will meet up with a familiar face in Christian Walker who has been showing just how bad the Davis deal is in 2019.

More from Birds Watcher

• Baltimore Orioles Sign RP Mychal Givens
• Gunnar Henderson: Destroyer of Four-Seam Fastballs
• Which Current Baltimore Orioles Pitchers Have the Best Curveballs?
• Orioles News: Should the O’s Pursue Eovaldi? + More MLB News
• Should the Baltimore Orioles Consider Signing Nathan Eovaldi?

Walker, 28, was once a big-time prospect in the Orioles’ system, ranked as high as fifth in the system by MLB.com before the 2015 season. He never was able to hang on in Baltimore because of the presence of Davis, Mark Trumbo, and the emergence of Trey Mancini.  He was put on waivers after the 2016 season and eventually ended up in Arizona.

After spending almost the entirety of his first two seasons in the D-Backs’ organization in AAA Reno, he finally got his opportunity to start at first base this year as the D-Backs traded star Paul Goldschmidt to St. Louis.

While Walker has not been a superstar in 2019 by any definition, he has been a terrific bargain for the D-Backs. He is hitting .257 with 19 home runs, 50 RBIs and an .833 OPS in 94 games, while being paid just $559,800. He is proving he can play in the big leagues and living up to what he was supposed to be four years ago. Walker is making $22,440,200 less than Davis and has a WAR, according to Baseball Reference of 2.1 more than Davis has in 2019.

This begs the question, could the Orioles have stayed at least a little more relevant if they had focused on the future and Walker’s development long-term instead of giving Davis a massive contract he has not lived up to at all? Having an extra $22 million to spend on players to make the team better could have been one major difference between a team in the hunt for a Wild Card and a team with the worst winning percentage in the MLB. We have seen MLB teams such as the A’s go on runs with low payrolls.

Orioles fans will see many familiar faces this week, including Adam Jones and T. J. McFarland. Caleb Joseph is also still with Arizona. He is currently on the minor league Injured List with the Reno Aces.