Christian Walker, Houston Astros | Rich Storry/GettyImages

The Houston Astros are 8-10 to start the new MLB season, dead last in the AL West. The standings will surely ebb and flow in the months to come, but it has been a less-than-ideal start in the team’s second campaign under manager Joe Espada.

This winter was an offseason of sweeping organizational change for the Astros. In with the new, out with the old. Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, staples of Houston’s 2022 World Series run, both left. The Astros replaced one via trade, the other via a meek free agent effort. Neither decision has aged all that well.

One of the few expected bright spots of the Astros’ offseason was the signing of former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker. He was not a direct replacement for Bregman, but when Walker put pen to paper on a three-year, $60 million contract, that felt like the unofficial end of Bregman’s tenure.

Walker was the perfect addition in theory. Not only did the Astros need more pop at first base, but Walker is the crème de la crème at his position defensively. He logged 13 outs above average last season, in MLB’s 97th percentile.

The early returns on the Walker signing have underwhelmed, however, and he’s taking accountability where GM Dana Brown refuses to.

Christian Walker accepts blame for slow start as Astros’ once-powerful offense sputters

“You’ll learn the more you watch, that’s a normal reaction to what I would consider just not being good enough,” Walker told The Athletic after Wednesday’s 4-1 loss in St. Louis. “What I’ve been doing at the plate lately is not good enough.”

That sort of frank honesty is important for an organization’s culture. Walker’s professionalism has never been in question, and as the saying goes, the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one.

It has been tough sledding at the plate for Houston’s 34-year-old infielder. He’s batting .154 with a .482 OPS, now 10-for-65 on the season. That is not what the Astros signed up for, and it’s certainly not up to par with Bregman’s smoking barrel in Boston.

As for GM Dana Brown, well… he’s willing to wait on improvement.

“That’s why you play 162 games,” Brown told MLB.com. “Some of the guys are chasing a little bit. Other guys, they’re just not getting their pitch. You take a guy like Walker. It seems like he’s being pitched tough every time. It’s weird. But look, I think these guys are professional hitters, I think they’ll snap out of it. We did face some really good arms early and now would be a good time for them to really turn it up.”

There is truth to that statement — Walker and others will skew back toward their median production eventually — but the Astros’ offense is clearly worse off than it was a year ago, and much worse than it was two years ago. Frankly, none of Houston’s major front office decisions from this past winter have paid dividends. It’s early, but the trends are alarming.

Kyle Tucker has been quite possibly the best bat in the National League with Chicago. Cam Smith and Isaac Paredes, meanwhile, look hapless in the box for Houston. Brown swapped Bregman for Walker, presumably to save money, and that investment has soured in record time. Even going back to last season, we can quibble with that $95 million stinker of a contract handed to Josh Hader.

Houston has made every effort to boost its lineup on the margins, moving Jose Altuve to the outfield and promoting Smith, a top prospect with minimal pro experience, to an everyday role. The Astros are trying to get creative, but when the front office pulls back on spending and starts cutting corners, it generally spells the end of a dynasty. The once-titanic Astros are starting to smell of mediocrity.