Astros announce roster move ahead of Guardians series

Matt Sullivan

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Astros announce roster move ahead of Guardians series image

Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are coming off a great series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road, as the offense was playing at an incredible pace, thanks in part to Christian Walker.

But ahead of the series against the Cleveland Guardians, the Astros announced a roster move involving Walker. The Astros placed Walker on the paternity list and called up outfielder Kennedy Corona from Triple-A Sugar Land. 

The 25-year-old outfielder has spent the entire 2025 season so far in Triple-A. During his 76 games there, he hit .228 with 59 hits, 37 runs scored, 10 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 28 RBIs, 34 walks, and 60 strikeouts. On the year, he has a .666 OPS.

Walker, meanwhile, in the first year of a three-year, $60 million deal, has been struggling this season. Across his 87 games played, Walker has 77 hits, 36 runs scored, 12 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, 45 RBIs, 23 walks, and 96 strikeouts. His .231 batting average and .673 OPS are both the lowest numbers he's had since 2018.

However, while Walker has struggled overall this season, he had the chance to play the Dodgers, against whom he thrives. In the three-game series, Walker hit .429 with a 1.324 OPS. In 14 at-bats, Walker had six hits, four runs scored, two home runs, six RBIs, and three strikeouts.

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Since the beginning of June, Walker was hitting .268 with a .746 OPS, a decent amount better than his season numbers. But, Walker now heads to the paternity list and will take time off the MLB roster.

Corona will take his place on the roster, as he's set to make his MLB debut. But, Houston losing Walker stings, as the position players have dealt with a litany of changes in recent weeks.

Jeremy Pena is down with an injury, Jacob Melton and Jake Meyers are both out, Yordan Alvarez suffered a setback, and now Walker is going to be off the MLB roster for some time.

While it's not an injury, it further reinforces the point that the Astros need to add more position player depth at this year's trade deadline. For now, Houston will cobble together interesting lineups against the Guardians, who are in the middle of a ten-game losing streak.

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Matt Sullivan

Matt Sullivan is a freelance writer for The Sporting News, predominantly covering MLB. Matt is a native of Pennsylvania and has worked with Athlon Sports, Last Word on Sports, and other outlets.