Christian Walker has been a popular target in free agency so far this offseason, drawing interest from not only the reigning Diamondbacks, but also the Yankees, Mariners, Astros and Nationals, among others. ESPN’s Jeff Passan writes that interested teams have been unwilling to extend their offers beyond three years, but that Walker’s camp “would like to get a fourth year.”

The great interest in Walker is only logical. He has been one of the most underrated players in the sport for several seasons. The 33-year-old slugger’s .251/.335/.468 slash in 2024 is almost a mirror image of the broader .253/.332/.464 line he carries in nearly 3,200 plate appearances since 2019, it would be entirely It would have been foolish to believe that the Diamondbacks could successfully replace a perennial All-Star Paul Goldschmidt with a journeyman waiver, but Arizona did just that and was handsomely rewarded.

Not only has Walker been consistently productive on the field – 13% better than average overall, including 20% ​​better over the last three seasons – he has also developed into one of the game’s best defenders at his position. Walker has won three straight Gold Gloves for his work at first base. Walker’s 33 defensive runs saved over the past three seasons lead all major league first basemen by a wide margin. Matt Olson is in second place with 27. Statcast is even more optimistic, crediting Walker with 39 outs above average – nearly twice as many as the runner-up Carlos Santana (20). He has only made eight errors since 2022.

However, as excellent as Walker has been, a four-year contract is a tall order given his age. He will be 34 years old in March. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, only four position players in the last decade have secured four-year contracts that begin their season at age 34 or later: Josh Donaldson (four years, $92 million with the twins), Ben Zobrist (four years, $56 million with the Cubs), Nelson Cruz (four years, $57 million with the Mariners) and Victor Martínez (four years, $68 million with the Tigers. Donaldson’s contract, now almost five years old, is the youngest of the bunch. Of the four, only Cruz’s contract worked out well.

Suffice it to say, four years would break any precedent for a position player of that age. Speculatively speaking, he could go the route some other veterans have taken in the past to secure the extra years they seek on longer-term contracts: He adds (in this case) the fourth year at a discounted rate. The general expectations for Walker were that he would make around $20 million per year. If he were to seek a fourth year for, say, $8-10 million, that would give him his fourth season and also reduce the luxury tax burden on the signing club. For many of Walker’s reported suitors this will not be a factor as they are not CBT payers anyway. It could be significant for a team like the Yankees or Astros.

Walker’s asking price is likely one of the reasons the Yankees are “increasingly likely to select a cheaper option at first base,” as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. The others include the qualifying offer, which would cost them an additional two draft picks (after already giving up two for it). Max Fried) and the wealth of options available on the free agent market (Santana, Justin TurnerGoldschmidt) and trading market (Josh Naylor, Yandy Diaz, Nathaniel Lowe).