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

[ATTENTION CARLOS]
Yes, Baltimore may offer you $300 million. Living in Baltimore is akin to living in Mogadishu. When Daniella divorces you, then you will be left with $150 million pre-tax. Which then becomes less than $90 million after tax.

GOOD DAY

 

I can't believe the Braves did that. Some young fans would think that Braves forced Freeman out the door. In reality, Freeman wanted more money and got it from the Dodgers.

 

If Crane is negotiating with Boras without having clear information on Correa’s expected value (not price) from his front office, he is a fool falling for Boras’ patented move of using owners’ egos against them.

 

If Crane simply listens to Click we would have already bowed out

 

I obviously have nothing to go on other than being a fan

But this seems very likely the case. Click seems like a guy who places a number on a guy and that’s it. Crane understands that Carlos is a guy who could have value outside of what a numbers nerd could come up with.

Crane seems like the perfect owner. Let the GM make 99% of the baseball decisions as he is as hired to do, but step in only in extenuating circumstances

I hope we keep Carlos but my biggest fear is we lose out on him and there are no other options to improve the team. Having money to spend at the deadline is great and all, but also means that to improve the “now means dealing from the future. Would be better off spending that money now

 

The rebuild was almost over by the time he got here.

 

I'm moving on to Pena if the rumors are to be believed.

However; I would consider placing him 9th in the BO behind Maldonado because of his speed and OBP. It's almost like having the lineup turn over early since he is a natural lead-off man and that roll is filled by Altuve. The has been some thought of this strategy for quite a few years and it really depends on who you have to fill the ninth slot. Two Outcome player, don't do it. Leave him in the 8 hole. But an OBP/fast guy makes sense to swap to the ninth slot behind the worst batter.

Maximize his fielding time and minimize his PA until he adjusts to MLB.

Picking up on an earlier thought, here's a potential inning after Maldenado strikes out for the third out.:

9. Pena R SPEED AND OBP
1. Altuve R SPEED AND OBP
2. Tucker L SPEED AND POWER
3. Gurriel R OBP
4. Alvarez L POWER AND OBP
5. Bregman R OBP with POWER POTENTIAL
6. Brantley L PROFESSIONAL HITTER
7. CF R/S ??? Goodrum S SAC FLY/LOW SO
8. Maldenado R TWO TRUE OUTCOMES

 

He missed the playoffs just once in his entire career... and it was not his rookie season.

 

The only issue I have with this is when did Goodrum pass McCormick and Siri in the CF depth chart?

 

So…I thought there was *no* chance of us retaining CC at the beginning of the offseason. Our only chance was if those long-term deals didn’t materialize. Even with how things appear today, there may still be very little chance of us keeping him…no one knows outside of CC and Boras. The good news is that, by way of a miracle, it looks like CC’s market to date did not develop as everyone anticipated. Optics certainly look like the teams we were most worried about have gone elsewhere (disclaimer that I’m not entirely sold that Donaldson for 2 years + IKF are truly dispositive of a NYY CC addition), but we’ll have to wait and see unfortunately. I agree that this has Beltran 2.0 written all over it, but good news is we are in a better position now than we were in 2005. Time will tell, would love to bring CC back but it takes 2 to tango, and it’s incredibly hard to tango against 300m+.

 

I am sure that Crane has contact with Click and others and is fully aware of what the front office values Correa at. However as it was put to me, Crane has preferences and this is a rare situation where Crane is even more involved and speaking directly with Boras (or was a few days ago). Also from what I have heard, Crane has been more involved under Click than Luhnow.

 

injury risk is why I think the current negotiations is stuck on an opt out after year 1 or year two. Correa wants the security of something long term and option to test the marker again next offseason. I’m guessing crane is saying 2 years.

 

But the value of Correa to Crane is different than it is to Click. For Click, it's just about what he produces on the field. For Crane, its about how it affects ticket sales, franchise value, long-term fan loyalty, etc. Correa brings added value that many players don't offer. How much is that actually worth? No one really knows.

 

It was a speculation by another poster and primarily based on his strengths and switch hitting. It won't happen unless Carlos returns or Pena shows he's an everyday player.

 

Not sure what strengths Goodrum has as an everyday center fielder. He has only started 10 games there in his ML career. His overall offensive stats are those of a below average ML player. Barring injury or phenomenal spring training, he will be buried behind McCormick and Siri on the CF depth chart.

 

Hh

when a player gets injured 3 straight years 2017-2019 and two of those years are a back injury then teams have a right to be concerned.
I think if 2020 would have been a full season there would be less concern.

articles like this don’t help…
Shocking Revelations on Carlos Correa’s Medical Records Suggest Signing Delay


https://www.essentiallysports.com/u...correa-medical-records-suggest-signing-delay/

 

Article from early December based on nothing but speculation from Buster Olney, an Astro hater.

Would the Astros have offered as big a contact as they did if this was anything close to the truth.

 

This.

Crane has a pre-existing relationship with Correa and he has long viewed him as the centerpiece of the rebuild.

There are just certain players that Crane has developed a relationship or fondness for (Verlander).

What I have noticed is that owners have different degrees of involvement within organizations, and while an owner completely engrossed that micro manages (Jerry Jones/Mark Cuban) usually isn't good, having a completely hands off owner isn't always either. There are some owners that just seem to know when to step in and have a good idea of judging situations.

Look at Les Alexander and Tilman Fertitta. Neither of them ever went into the luxury tax but one (Alexander) was a far better owner. Alexander let the coaches and front office do their jobs, and did not give them unlimited funds. However, when things would start to come undone (McHale), he would step in and not only instruct his GM to fire the coach or trade a player, he tended to have the right instincts. It was Alexander that wanted to hire Mike D'Antoni and Morey wanted to hire Silas/Hollins. It was Alexander that wanted to hire Daryl Morey and it was Carroll Dawson that wanted to hire a retread from the Hawks.

Jerry Buss was the same way, and there are others...... just some owners "get it" and know when to flex their power and when not to. So far Crane has been very good at this. Not perfect, but very good. He hired Luhnow and agreed to budget increases. He pushed Luhnow to go hard after Verlander after hearing his players publicly want it. He agreed to the extension with Altuve and he played a part in not giving Cole the money he wanted.

So at this point I trust Crane. He put together the group to buy the Astros, he has seen them appreciate in value a lot.... he played a huge part in their turn around and he lead the Astros out of trashcan gate to two more World Series.... he has been underestimated from day 1.

At some point you put your faith in someone that has been repeatedly successful.

 

Real question though. Why would the market for Correa be better in next year?

Most of the guys signed this off season were multiyear deals so that teams are still probably out. Unless Correa has a MVP level season, I don't see how the market improves in 1 season, and possible even 2.

 

If there is a ticket sales component or other means Correa is worth more than on field performance, Click needs to know. Signing Correa affects a lot with the team. It would have been a lot easier to keep Correa with an extension last year than in free agency this year.