Astros: CTH Staff’s Predictions on where Carlos Correa will sign

Carlos Correa could land in New York but not with the Yankees.

Matthew Kunkel

I’ve been preparing for life without Correa for sometime. There’s a pretty sizable gap between what Correa wants (9-10 years, $300 million+) and what the front office seems willing to offer (5 years, $175 million).

Obviously the two parties can work towards the appropriate middle ground, but I don’t think it’ll happen. Correa is the top free agent this winter, who plays a premier position and who is also in the prime of his career.

He’s an All-Star, a power bat, a World Series champion, a great leader and is now a Gold and Platinum Glove winner. It’s time to pay the man – and unfortunately the Astros are likely to get outgunned.

Assuming the Astros cannot sign Correa, they should focus their attention on signing Trevor Story. The Texas native is a two-time all-star who is an elite defensive shortstop with a career .272 BA and a .861 OPS.

Story would likely be willing to sign a shorter contract, which could serve as the perfect stop-gap for Houston. The Astros could add an All-Star shortstop to extend their championship window in the short term, while having more roster flexibility for when they believe prospect Jeremy Pena is ready to take over that position.

Back to Correa, I don’t think the Dodgers will sign him, otherwise Joe Kelly would likely have to go into Witness Protection and find a new team. Although the Yankees have met with his reps, I just don’t see them signing Correa without facing fan and Aaron Judge backlash. Miami and Philadelphia would be realistic and interesting landing spots for him too.

The clear frontrunner is Detroit. He’d be reunited with Hinch and could serve as the perfect clubhouse leader for a young club that looks to priming themselves for a championship run.

But I’m gonna zag, and say he’ll sign with the New York Mets. Owner Steve Cohen wants to bring a championship to Queens, so he’ll want to make a big splash in free agency.

He’s already got the best pitcher in the world in Jacob DeGrom, and he might as well bring in the best defensive shortstop too. This would reunite Correa with fellow Puerto Rican teammate Fransisco Lindor where they could cover the middle infield better than any two players in all of baseball.

Prediction: 9 years, $315 Million with the Mets