Know first and foremost that we are firmly in the “grain of salt portion” of the MLB calendar, a chaotic time of year characterized by reckless speculation, agent-driven propaganda (most of it from the mouth of Scott Boras), glorified guesses being framed as insider knowledge and rampant rumormongering. But isn’t that the whole fun of it?
The early optimism of free agency, when any and every team still has a chance to pull off a heist of epic proportion (before the Dodgers and their endless payroll inevitably swoop in), is a hell of a drug. In a free-agent mailbag column posted Friday, former Reds and Nationals executive Jim Bowden, now of The Athletic, dropped this bombshell on us: “There’s a strong possibility the Red Sox make a quiet play for either Carlos Correa or Marcus Semien.”
Roping in a former first overall pick in the prime of his career would be a seismic move by Chaim Bloom, announcing to the world that Boston—one of the sport’s biggest surprises this past season—is in it to win it. And why shouldn’t they be, after nearly capturing an American League pennant this past season? Coming off career-highs in home runs (26), wins above replacement (7.2) and runs scored (104), signing Correa would carry the added benefit of thwarting the rival Yankees, who, despite his complicated history with the team, are thought to be among the 27-year-old’s top suitors.
Correa wouldn’t come cheap, but difference-makers of his elite caliber rarely do. One of the most decorated playoff performers, not just of his era, but of all-time (sixth-most RBI, seventh-most homers), Correa has ties to manager Alex Cora, who served as Houston’s bench coach during the Astros’ now-tainted World Series run in 2017. Seeing Correa, who was a thorn in the Red Sox’s side for the entirety of his Houston tenure (.347/.427/.667 slash line with seven homers and 15 RBI in 75 lifetime at-bats at Fenway Park), trade in his Astros orange for Dunkin’ iced coffee and “Sweet Caroline” would be jarring to say the least, though in the vast wilderness of MLB free agency, stranger things have happened.
Of course, there’s one problem with all this—the Red Sox already have an All-Star shortstop in Xander Bogaerts. Bowden believes, in that scenario, the Red Sox would simply move Bogaerts, who has never been anything to write home about defensively (-55 defensive runs for his career), across the diamond to second base. We’ve seen Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez, both shortstops by trade, coexist in New York and perhaps Bogaerts—the longest-tenured Red Sox and arguably the face of the franchise—would be amenable to a similar pairing in Boston if it helped toward their goal of capturing another World Series.
Given the Red Sox’s other needs and Correa’s exorbitant asking price (Houston’s latest offer of five years, $160 million gave him and his agent a good chuckle), the 6’4” shortstop is, for the moment, just a pipe dream. But even if it’s just to leverage another team into overpaying him, this won’t be the last time you hear Correa’s name in connection to the Red Sox this winter.
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