Carlos Correa to the Twins - 3 Years, $105 Million

My perception is that Correa was a self-appointed leader. He specialized in shows of leadership more than actual leadership. A real leader wouldn’t distract from the team by proposing to his girlfriend on the field immediately after winning the WS.

If I had to guess, I think Altuve, Gurriel, (and to a lesser degree) Brantley and Verlander have been the true leaders of this team over the last few years.

 

And yet, the train keeps rolling right along.

 

I normally agree with most of your takes but I definitely disagree here. Correa was definitely the leader last year which is why everyone wanted him back. That being said, we have tons of vets that have seen it all, so we should be okay without him.

 

The difference between Correa's perceived leadership and the latter group you mentioned is that we all saw Correa's leadership on the field, like when he picked up Altuve when he was having his fielding issues, and when he joined mound conferences to talk to and lift up our young pitchers.

Whereas the latter group is based on pure speculation on your part with zero evidence to support it. JV wasn't even with the team last year.

 

Fair points. Its just that my experience is that the guys showing flashy leadership in front of the cameras are usually posers. It’s the dudes who are quiet in public but act internally when needed who are the real leaders.

I don’t buy that the players lobbying for Correa was an indication that he was the team leader. First, he was their friend even if he wasn’t a leader. Second, he’s an extremely good player and they wanna win, so it makes sense they’d want him back even if he wasn’t necessarily considered their leader. Finally, they’d likely lobby for any player to get paid, since it serves their interests as well. So there are lots of reasons they’d lobby to bring him back that don’t point to him being the team leader.

 

Well... he didn't lead them to a championship in 2018-2021.

 

Well, he did lead them to 3 world series in our history and our first championship. So there's that. Can the train repeat the effort without him. We shall see. If it does good for our Astros. If it doesn't, the spotlight is on the decision.

 

Agree somewhat... but I do believe his true leadership would show on the field as well. Not just serving as a translator for the young Spanish speaking pitchers but actually providing a calming/motivating presence in the highest of pressure-packed situations. One of the rare positional players that has a direct impact on the wellness of the pitching staff: Both from an emotional level but also from a defensive protection level, given the importance of his position.

We've already had decades of experience with the leaders who are less vocal in public (Biggio/Bagwell)... and while a lot of their short-comings could not be blamed solely on their demeanors, I do think those teams lacked some of the moxy/heart/emotion that this current era of Astros baseball has showcased in spades.

This team is now at the point where they probably don't benefit directly from Correa as much... young pitchers have experience now, the core is older, and winning/playing in WS is somewhat expected. But he was impactful from day one... whether it was being a slightly mature version of everybody's younger selves with a young core, or being the vocal presence described above.

 

So.. why is it then "second guessable" if they get to the WS with Pena and lose? He will have done what Correa did the past 4 years. And Correa was not very good offensively in the ALCS and WS last year. And he was not very good in the WS in 2019.

 

If the decision gets us to the world series everything is fine. It means somebody stepped up as a leader. And the train kept rolling without Correa. Nobody will care. And he wasn't as important as some of us thought. If we don't make it again, the void was obviously not filled, the risk failed, and the second guess begins. Correa was the x factor. The same thing is happening with Tom Brady and the Patriots. How quickly you are forgetting what many of us think he did for us.

 

Carlos Correa was well liked by most of the veterans on the Astros and he was certainly one of the leaders of the team over the last few years.

The Astros clubhouse can sometimes be cliquish and Correa was supposedly part of that sometimes... but he was a leader.

I think that fans make too much out of losing a leader when you have a veteran team like the Astros..... there are a number of leaders for the younger players to look up to, and if the Astros have a "top leader", it would be Altuve, who just about everyone gets along with, and Altuve is well known for carving out time to develop a friendship with all of the players.

Look at it like this....... Maldonado doesn't need a "leader", he is a leader.... Gurriel, Altuve, Bregman, Bradley and even Tucker have had success and know what it takes to be productive...... on the pitching side, those guys look to other pitchers to lead.

So who does that leave? Meyers? Pena?...... they have plenty of leaders to look up to.

My sister works for the front office with the Astros, and she claims that Bregman is arguably the strongest leader along with Altuve because they both are the ones that make the younger players feel comfortable.

Correa is a VERY gifted player and he has matured into a positive in the clubhouse.... and he will be missed, but the loss of leadership I think is overblown..... I didn't hear about how great a leader Correa was when his back was hurt.... it came down to play on the field.

 

Comparing one player in baseball to the most important position in sports is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen posted.

 

Correa’s BA dropped from .154 to .133 today, another 0-4, with 2ks…sitting on 4 hits and 13ks…definitely in a funk to start the year, far from the only player to struggle with the short ST, but not good for the bag man.

 

Like most of our lineup.

 

Altuve and Correa are having separation anxiety. Having battles over who can get closer to .100.

 

That's what being on the Twins will do to you.

 

Texans/Rockets apologists: DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE CHAMPIONSHIPS TOO!

 

>Cries out in horror of the 2015 error against Kansas City<

 

Jeremy Pena salary $700,000
Carlos Correa salary $11,000,000