It long had been clear that even when the lockout concluded, the likes of Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman wouldn’t fly off the market – simply because guys who draw huge deals always take longer to land.
But for now, Correa is in an interesting spot as no team has really taken hold of frontrunner status to land him. That has led to increased chatter that he could return to the Astros – or go elsewhere, seeing as his Houston mansion is for sale – on a one-year deal worth a ton of money, then hit the market again next year.
It might seem far-fetched, but MLB insider Ken Rosenthal said Monday on “The Athletic Baseball Podcast” that it’s not too far out of the realm of possibility.
“There are circumstances that I believe might push him in that direction, or at least make that an option for him,” Rosenthal said. “It would be a one-year deal, first of all, at a huge number – 35, 40, I suggested 45 million, highest one-year salary of all-time. And the reason he would do it's because it’s March 14th already, the season starts in three-and-a-half weeks, and I don’t see an obvious fit. Now, for Carlos Correa, teams will make things happen and create openings for him. That’s possible, and certainly Scott Boras, his agent, has a history of making great deals appear seemingly from out of nowhere. It’s just from what we know now, I’m not sure I see it happening.
“And if he went to a one-year, monster deal, he goes back on the market next offseason at age 28 – now, the risk of course is he’s got to stay healthy, he’s got to stay productive – but you go back at 28 and you’re still the youngest shortstop on the market. Younger than Trea Turner, younger than Xander Bogaerts if he opts out, and you’re in a great position. And at that point the industry revenues seemingly will have rebounded from these two years of COVID-reduced revenues. So, it’s an interesting scenario, I’m not a complete idiot I don’t think. I presented it, I’m not sure it’s going to happen that way, I raised all sorts of qualifiers, but at the same time this is a very unusual circumstance and we may see some unusual things happening.”
The Astros still consider themselves in win-now mode, so forking over a ton of cash to Correa for one year, while not being the team to tie themselves to him long-term, might be preferred.
It would be an unusual approach, but with each passing day that Correa remains unsigned, the one-year contract might be his best course.
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