(Audacy) It long had been clear that even when the MLB lockout concluded, the likes of star shortstop Carlos Correa and star first baseman Freddie Freeman wouldn't fly off the market – simply because players 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 front-runner 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 open market again next year.
It might seem far-fetched for Correa to ink a one-year deal, but Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic suggested 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 14 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 season -- while not being the team to tie themselves to him long-term -- might be preferred. The Cubs have also been among the teams expressing interest in Correra, though that speculation has cooled a bit in recent days.
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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