PHOENIX -- Once again, Christian Walker's glove was made of gold.

The D-backs’ sure-handed first baseman was awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove Award for the third straight season, matching the total accumulated by Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona’s only other first baseman to win the award.

Walker, who took over for Goldschmidt in 2019, was one of the D-backs’ five Gold Glove finalists, alongside outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Jake McCarthy, second baseman Ketel Marte and catcher Gabriel Moreno.

• Most Gold Glove Awards at each position

Walker's 13 outs above average were the most among National League first basemen, easily outdistancing the Phillies’ Bryce Harper, who finished with eight.

“I think he's incredible over there,” veteran shortstop Kevin Newman said of Walker earlier this year. “I think that the value he brings is in giving us the confidence that all we need to do is get the ball close to him and there's a really good chance that he's gonna pick you up. It's something that doesn't really get as noticed by fans, but it does in the clubhouse.”

Coming up through the Minor Leagues, Walker was not known as a good defender. It was a skill that he picked up by taking an endless amount of ground balls.

"He's the best defensive first baseman in baseball by a long shot," D-backs general manager Mike Hazen said at the end of the season. "He's earned all that. That wasn't the case six or seven years ago. He's put in all the time and effort [to do] that."

Walker has been a fixture at first base for Arizona since 2019, but whether or not he will be there in 2025 remains to be seen, as he is a free agent.

The D-backs will make Walker a qualifying offer, which is valued at $21.05 million for the 2025 season. However, it seems likely that Walker – who made his big league debut for the Orioles in 2014 – will test the market, considering how long he's waited for the opportunity.

Whether the D-backs can compete with other offers for Walker has yet to be determined, but they certainly would love to have him back.

“We have a long history with Christian Walker, way back in the day," Hazen said. "All the way back to when he was an up-down guy in Triple-A for us. And the amount of pride that I think we have in what he has accomplished and made himself into as a player is something that I'm extremely proud from an organizational standpoint."