Will be interesting to see if Crane pays the man. Hopefully we offer something respectable (8/240), and if we get blown out of the water, then so be it. I think losing Springer has showed us that losing anyone is manageable. Our surprising OF depth has really lessened the blow. And while we’d still be competitive without Correa…Click/Crane have to be cognizant that our entire fan base loves these players. I don’t think you find an unhappy Astro fan anywhere if we manage to keep him. Would be ecstatic to keep this core together for the foreseeable future, even if thinks may look awry in 2026 or so.
Personally, I think losing CC is going to be significantly worse than losing Springer. There's just a ton of intangibles on top of CC's field play that he's embraced that can't be duplicated on this team. And that's not even mentioning his abilities in the clutch.
Finding shortstops that are good offensively and defensively is a lot harder than outfielders. Correa should be the highest paid person on the team.
If the stros are still holding firm on their initial offers to him, CC is easily gone. The brink's trucks from other teams will be lined up for CC for sure and deservedly so
I think the manner in which the Astros navigate the playoffs and Carlos's personal numbers during which will make what decision needs to made clearer. Perhaps even obvious. It seems tough now. But how things fall during the playoffs will have a significant effect on what the brass does IMO. So whatever anyone thinks now, it might do a 180 in the weeks to come.
There is an upper limit on what we can do. If some team throws 10-400+ at him than I'd let him walk. If Correa walks, I want Tucker AND Alvarez signed to long term deals on the spot.
Unless they get offered (and take) an early extension, the same logic used against signing Correa long term can be applied to these two. There’s also a lot of unknowns on where this team will be 4-5 years from now, after Altuve is gone… after Bregman is either gone or past his prime. Tucker/Alvarez may not be the choices to anchor a new core and they may finally have to rebuild… which is not crazy considering very few runs last 10+ years. Which is why I’d really consider having Correa around for at least the next 3… and a little longer to possibly be the anchor of the Tucker/Alvarez remaining years. Crane and the front office has to factor in what superstar-level performances on playoff/contending teams does for attendance, merchandise sales, and fans lining up to renew season tickets.
You aren't wrong. Everyone wants to be the St. Louis Cardinals but there's only one of them for a reason. I'd be a big fan of trying to keep the great bats and replace the pitching from within/trades, but that is banking everything on whether we can find another set of Urquidy/Garcia/Valdez. Those three will walk in FA if we go all in on the current core. I'd also imagine that mediocre teams with big names that were sucessful in the past (See: SF Giants 2015-2020) sell more tickets than a total rebuild team full of no-names.
The Cardinals also kept Yadier, Wainwright, Pujols (for his first FA contract), Chris Carpenter… while reloading and promoting and trading (Holiday) elsewhere. We don’t need to be the juggernaut that won 100+ games every year… those years cannot be taken for granted and will probably never happen in anybody here’s lifetime. But they can replicate years like this one…. 90-95 wins, hopefully deep playoff runs, and continue to draw fans well.
10 years of Crane being an owner and he knows that as well… but he also knows they’ll come back as soon as they are again. I don’t see Crane settling for middling years. This team is going to either have a winning core that he will spend on… or its time to rebuild.
I don't know how anyone can have confidence in this team going into the playoffs. No contender is playing worse down the stretch.
Weren’t we playing pretty bad toward the end of last season and then turned it on in the playoffs? The Astros are probably going to treat it like a fresh start. But, it doesn’t feel good going the way it’s been going. There is little room for dry spells in the playoffs...especially with our pitching.
Correa will try and command the largest contract for a SS. Yankees, Rangers are two teams interested.
Disagree....You have made the necessary sacrifices to keep some of this core together (Cole, Springer, Morton, Marwin etc). If you can keep Correa this team's window stretches another 3-4 years as HE is the team leader. One additional championship IMO (including financially) is worth that 10 yr contract despite the tough pill it may be to swallow 5+ years from now. If you knew he wasn't apart of future plans then why not just trade him last year after springer left and pick up additional pieces for the future. Losing future HOFers for nothing is not common for any MLB team especially one that is contending year in and year out.
