Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker was ruled out of Wednesday’s spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals because of left oblique soreness.
Jon Singleton replaced him in the starting lineup in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Astros signed free agent Walker, 33, to a three-year, $60 million contract in December. He missed about a month last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, leaving a July 29 game and returning to the lineup on Sept. 3, because of a left oblique strain.
He also spent two separate stints on the injured list in 2021 because of a strained right oblique.
Walker had 26 home runs with 84 RBIs and an .803 OPS in 130 games last season, when he won his third consecutive National League Gold Glove Award. That came one year after he hit 33 home runs with a career-best 103 RBIs and an .830 OPS in 157 regular-season games while helping the Diamondbacks to a World Series berth.
A fourth-round selection by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2012 draft, Walker has 147 home runs and 443 RBIs with a .793 OPS in 832 games over 10 major league seasons.
