Certainly, from a fan’s perspective pay the man his money. I’m not worried about how competitive the Astros will be in 10 years and I like watching Correa play. They can pay him a hefty salary and still remain competitive for the next few years, so Crane open up your wallet. The Astros as an organization are thinking as a business making an investment. This thread is basically all of us speculating how they are going to think about what they are willing to invest and whether it will be competitive with other teams making the same decisions.
You're projecting what he would have done in a year that is done. 2020 is not a hypothetical. It happened. Springer was down 100 OPS. He was on the decline. Meanwhile Correa not only led his team in War, he led the entire league in War in his contract year. There's no comparison. Correa earned his contract. Springer was dropped for a draft pick for good reason. And Springer left Toronto wondering what the hell did they buy.
Certainly expect things to be always back/forth on this... but I still harken back to as an Astros fan, does anybody really regret the down years of Biggio/Bagwell at the end of their careers? They were both hampering the team, both with their diminished abilities, blocking younger players from taking over, and salaries. But now, you have two HOF players who spent their whole careers with the Astros... they're legacies. Seeing them at games now rooting on the young ones creates some very special feelings as the generations are still connected. Even though it was awkward that they had statues of themselves while they were still playing?!?... its now in line with what other historic franchises do to honor their greats... for a franchise that until this golden era, didn't have a tremendous amount of history and success to hang their hats on. I do think Crane realizes that aspect of it... to a point. He's not going to put this team in a position to lose money (with excessive CBT) or not still be a contender. But I do think he understands legacies and why some fans truly connect to a team... goes well beyond just wins/losses.
Every boat needs a good anchor. But if the anchor gets too big, it sinks the boat. There is a point of diminishing returns. I believe Correa should be the highest paid Astro. But there are only so many resources to distribute. We are already at the point. I'd love to make Carlos the first $210M dollar player over 7 years. But more than that and we don't have anything left for the other up and coming stars. If Carlos walks away from that and seeks to maximize his pocket, I don't blame him. But I'd rather WIN.
It was down to 899 after his 974. Both are elite. It's like complaining Ernie Banks was down 2.3 WAR after his 10.2 WAR season. Now was this season the first step in a declining trend or is it a blip? I'll just say that I don't remember people clammering to dump him. Just a bunch of hand wringing.
Janks are probably gearing up for a run at Correa. They got their YES network lackeys already breaking the ice and getting their idiot fan base to warm up to the idea.
The FACTS are sports guys are talking about how great it would be to poach yet another great player. They recognize the BS involved in the fans 'horror' that someone other than them cheats on occasion.
Yanks will go hard at Correa if only to drive up the price for us to keep him. There is no doubt in my mind. All my Yankee friends tell me they want the Yankees to go after Correa.
I think the Yankees generally want Correa. And I doubt the Astros can compete contract wise. Frankly put, Correa with the Yankees has them in the ALCS…. I do not think the Astros can pony up for the Astros and stay competitive after 2 years of that signing. And then they’d be paying Correa 40 million a year for the next 8 years with financial constraints to put winning talent around him and Altuve. If the Astros do keep Correa, we will all be celebrating, but I am not holding my breath expecting it.
Correa on the Yankees doesn't guarantee them anything. The Blue Jays are on the rise and finished one game behind them despite having to play in 3 different "home" parks plus missing Springer more than half the year. The Red Sox are ahead of schedule on their mini rebuild and will spend money. Plus you can never count out the Rays. Wander Franco is a monster and I expect him to start getting MVP votes in the near future.
We are in good shape EITHER WAY. We either keep Correa, who is a top talent and total winner, or we allow Pena/Leon to step into the lineup for dirt cheap and then have money to spend on pitching or other resources. I love Correa and all he has done for Houston and would prefer to keep him... but I'm also very excited to see what Pena/Leon can do for us and how we might allocate the money that would free up.
Well at some point we'll reach a point where Alvarez and Tucker will be looking for extensions. We can't afford them all, so some player sacrifices will have to be made. I will be really, really bummed if we lose Correa though. He's my favorite player on the team.
This was around the time they worked out an extension for Bregman (debut in 2016, extension after 2018 season). And Altuve was already locked into a tremendous team friendly deal that was also signed early in his career, and made it even easier to grant a much warranted extension for (plus, he had no leverage). If the Astros end up not retaining Correa, they will likely focus any potential savings towards early extensions for other core members (including the young pitchers) that buys out some of the potential FA years (as they did with Bregman). If they don’t work out earlier extensions… I won’t hold my breath that they do so after those players makle multiple all star teams and are not too far away from free agency (plus, their agents probably would advise them to wait at that point). They’d pretty much establish an MO that they’d rather pay more during arbitration years and first few years of FA…. But not much after that. Can’t argue too much against it on principle… and this is how most mid market teams do business. There are still always exceptions…. And Correa’s age and legacy potential do make him a potential candidate (hence Crane’s statement that they’ll be in the mix for him).
We aren’t getting Correa. Not because Crane doesn’t want him but we can’t afford him. I’m sure the Astros will offer Correa 8 years 240 million or 6 years 228 million and they still won’t get him. Astros won’t do a 10 year contract but some team out there will offer him 10 years 400 million. Is what it is. end of the day, No one will care if we don’t sign Correa but field a team that takes us to the WS next year.
My bad if this was already posted. A little further down are some comments about re-signing. (in Spanish)
Interesting thread documenting a supposed interview Correa recently gave with a PR radio station. If true (have no reason to think it's not), would be a much more candid appraisal of he situation than anything Correa would tell the US media. Also, confirms that he felt insulted by the Astros' tepid offer in the off-season.
He apparently also said its all about the take home pay and he’s aware of how his contract could be much more lucrative if he stays in Houston because of no state income tax. Astros don’t have to have the biggest offer… but it has to be close. Smart guy.
Even beyond the tax advantages I think he'd be willing (at least until we pissed him off with our lowball offer) to take a small haircut (maybe 10%-20%) to stay here. I doubt we get anywhere close though.
There was no way the Astros, or any team, would have been considering a 10 year offer before this year… and that’s fine. Correa had to prove he could stay healthy, he did, he’ll get rewarded and go wherever he feels the best about.
The worst part was when he was asked about the East coast and his response was I love it. And later said something like, especially when they have stripes. Also how can teams show interest already? Tampering???? Or is this common and MLB doesn’t do anything about it unless a team publicly says it out loud.
