The Houston Astros made it clear they wanted to go a different direction when they signed Christian Walker to be their everyday first baseman.

As of now, the infield is set in stone with Isaac Paredes at third and a middle infield of Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña. However, the outfield could use an extra bat.

This is where the Astros could splurge and use some of the money saved by not signing Bregman and go after one of the biggest bats remaining in free agency.

Anthony Santander took baseball by storm in 2024 with a monstrous 44 home runs and 102 RBI. It marked back-to-back seasons with at least 25 home runs and at least 90 RBI.

Baseball Savant shows Santander was in the 79th percentile for batting run value, meaning he was one of the best “pure hitters” in the game. Defensively, he’s not the best with his range or arm, but his offensive production makes up for it.

Santander is valued at $88 million and projected to sign a five-year deal. However, there’s a good chance that price pushes closer to $100 million as spring training becomes closer.

He would immediately slot into right field as an upgrade over Chas McCormick and provide the Astros with one of the better offenses in the American League.

With Santander in the lineup, the top five could look like this:

1. 2B Jose Altuve

2. 3B Isaac Paredes

3. DH Yordan Alvarez

4. 1B Christian Walker

5. RF Anthony Santander

Only the Mariners rotation is talented enough in the AL West to try and even contain that group. It would all but ensure the Astros become a World Series favorite.

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