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

With the accelerated "off-season" that we will experience now that there is a signed labor agreement, I kind of expected we would have already heard something on Correa and a bunch of other players. I figured there has been a lot of under the table negotiations going on for the last few months that MLB would turn a blind eye to since it means getting their product back on the field in time. Maybe today or tomorrow we will be inundated with FA signing news stories.

 

I wouldn't understand this match unless it really is only about the money. Do the Cubs have a good farm system?

I thought they traded away all their good players, and they haven't had an elite pitching staff since their World series win.

 

Right, I thought they were in full rebuild mode

 

It's always about the money. Who is the last big prime-years free agent to take less money to sign somewhere?

 

Ohtani would be my guess. (He would have made a lot more money if he would have signed in Japan for 2 more years).

 

I agree I do not understand what the Cubs are doing especially if they sign Correa. They do not have a good farm (1 decent OF prospect). Their best position players (Contreras and Happ) are free agents soon. They have 2 players who broke out last year (Schwindel and Wisdom) but who are far from proven commodities. Their only good young players are a fringey 2B (Madrigal) and a utility player (Hoerner). They have 3 decent starting pitchers they are paying market value for but no aces and no bullpen.

A $300M deal doesn’t make any sense for a team projected for 75 wins with a middling farm.

 

I expected the Cubs to sign him all along. They have the money, they have a need at the position, and they need the star power. Carlos made it clear long ago that this was a business decision. Not hard to connect those dots really.

 

Yup, I have been thinking Cubs or Red Sox all along (while hoping for a surprise Astros reunion, at a relatively team-friendly deal).

When you have the financial power of those 2 teams, a rebuild is relatively easy.

 

Carlos is 27. The Cubs don't have to be good this year. They have time since he is still young. They are also a big market team and 97 million under the luxury tax if they want to go nuts....

 

I can stomach the Cubs more than the Yankees but this is still gonna hurt like a SOB.

I don't think many are realizing the drop off we're going to have without Correa. Best defensive shortstop in the league and a postseason demon. You can't replace that or have someone fill in expecting things to be the same.

Hopefully Crane and Click have something up their sleeves because this is gonna be a tough pill to swallow.

 

A good team losing a 5+ war player and still being a contender isn’t unheard of; the Astros did it last year after losing Springer.

It could be that what Click/Crane had up their sleeve was developing Jeremy Pena into an above average everyday SS and signing Justin Verlander to add an ace to a pitching staff that was mediocre last year.

The Astros are going to be contenders regardless of what happens with Correa.

 

The Astros' instagram unveiled the LeveUp slogan for the year without Correa in the picture. Getting sad now.

 

I'd rather Correa go to the Cubs than the Dodgers or Yankees.

 

No worse than Russians having to go without MakDonald's.

 

He’s not getting a 10 year contract with the Astros.

 

Not to mention he has experienced incredible success for 7 years now, including getting a world series ring and two pennants. If anything, Carlos is a player that has the most reason to be motivated mostly (if not solely) by money because he's achieved pretty much anything anyone would hope for, short of an MVP. And he could do that in Chicago even if they aren't all that good.

 

Doesn't look like Correa is going there....