PHOENIX — One day after winning a Gold Glove Award for the third straight season, free agent first baseman Christian Walker received a $21.05 million qualifying offer from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Walker was one of 13 players around Major League Baseball to receive a qualifying offer, which allows for a player's former team to receive a compensatory draft pick if the player declines to sign the qualifying offer and signs with another team.
Walker is expected to decline the qualifying offer and test free agency for the first time in his career. A report from ESPN says Walker's next deal could be worth anywhere from $40 to $80 million. He has until 2 p.m. Arizona time on Nov. 19 to accept or decline the offer.
Walker, who has been the D-backs' primary first baseman for the past five seasons, taking over the position after the D-backs traded Paul Goldschmidt to the St. Louis Cardinals. He has been with Arizona since 2017 when he was selected off waivers by the D-backs from the Cincinnati Reds.
In his eight seasons in Arizona, Walker has a batting average of .251 with 146 home runs and 442 runs batted in.
Walker's three Gold Gloves ties him with Goldschmidt for the most by a first baseman in D-backs history.
Full list of players who received qualifying offers
- RHP Corbin Burnes, Baltimore Orioles
- OF Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles
- RHP Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox
- 3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
- OF Juan Soto, New York Yankees
- 1B Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
- LHP Max Fried, Atlanta Braves
- RHP Nick Martinez, Cincinnati Reds
- OF Teoscar Hernández, Los Angeles Dodgers
- 1B Pete Alonso, New York Mets
- LHP Sean Manaea, New York Mets
- RHP Luis Severino, New York Mets
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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