Mark Berman: Astros offering Carlos Correa a 5 year/160 million dollar contract

It's amazing how much talent the 2017 Marlins team had before they had their regular fire sale. Realmuto, Yelich, and Stanton all under the age of 28.

 

Yep... would also add Jose Fernandez. But if you're not in position to win (or spend enough to win) when they're all in the arbitration/pre-arb years, then you need to sell.

The margin for error, or the ability for the owner to spend, is so limited in these team's positions. The perfect scenario is to have a crescendo like the Royals did... but more often than not, it ends up more like what Oakland just went through or what the Marlins have done time and time again.

Or you could just be smarter than everybody like the Rays are...

 

Florida got the rings though despite the scorched Earth process that followed.

 

And built nothing in terms of legacy, loyalty, or any sort of connection to the market.

Which is also why if the Rays or A's ever win it all... not sure if that's truly the end-all/be-all. Fan bases become connected to a team both through winning and connecting with the players/faces.

Faceless champions (or champions that are dismantled soon) don't necessarily move the needle when it comes to TV rights deals, stadium sponsorship, advertising sales, and merchandise revenue.

 

They had Ozuna, too. Little else, and their payroll was already causing debt that came out of the selling price of the franchise. The Marlins did what fanbases want. Spend and we'll come. The fans didn't come and then got upset when team got dismantled.

Luckily, the Marlins were able to dump ~265M of Stanton's contract on the Yankees before the Yankees realized he wasn't worth it.

While I don't think Rays have a path through being very profitable, I expect fans will connect with Franco and he will be there as long as Springer and Correa were in Houston.

 

If the Astros played in an outdated/stale domed stadium in Pasadena... I'm pretty sure they'd have similar attendance issues.

The Rays know this and operate thusly... would be scary if they actually put the team where the majority of their fans are. Revenues would allow them to be even more competitive.

 

They are ALL about to ruin this anyway

 

Considering the Rays have control over Franco through 2033, he's not going anywhere on his own.

 

You guys hear any rumors of CC to Boston being a done deal?

 

it was posted on Twitter by a guy who says he spoke with Altuve at a minor league game, but that guy is apparently notorious for attention (and do you really believe Jose would spill that news to a random fan?)

I don’t doubt that BOS is interested but I wouldn’t buy it from this guy on Altuve being the source

 

Thanks guys. Wasn't sure what to think.

 

Astros fans should know not to believe anything a random person on Twitter says after what Altuve has been going through.

 

He gone right?

 

With the Luxury tax threshold set at 230 million, I think we have 43 million to spend without going over. We can afford to give Correa a pretty hefty contract without going over.

 

Sounds like Astros are focusing on SS, CF, and bullpen. They can def offer Correa a big contract, but they also could sign Trevor Story for cheaper and still have money to address other needs. Correa returning seems more likely now than before the lockout, but we'll see. I'll mention that Crane doesn't believe in massive long-term deals. 4yr contract to Reddick remains the longest FA contract given.

 

Isn't Altuve's longer? And Bergman's?

 

Altuve and Bregman got contract extensions. I'm talking about deals in free agency

 

I understand. But regardless of how the deal was penned, isn't it still more than four years' commitment from the moment it was signed?

 

His salary this season was never the issue.