Why the Houston Astros will sign Trevor Story

The Astros want a superstar shortstop on a five or six-year deal, and superstar shortstop, Trevor Story, is available.

Every Houston Astros fan love Carlos Correa, don’t get me wrong. However, Correa is looking for a 10-year contract worth somewhere in the ballpark around $340 million. For teams above the luxury tax threshold, this is no big deal (think New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers).

However, for teams that aren’t above this threshold, like the Astros, a deal of that size makes no sense. Not to mention the fact that long-term deals like that pretty much never pan out.

Look at Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels. This is not to mention the fact that Correa is currently 27-years-old and would be 37-years-old when the contract ends. He also has somewhat of an injury history.

So let’s take a deep dive into the other option, which I personally think is the better one. Trevor Story wants a five or six-year deal, worth about $150 Million. Story is currently 29-years-old, and will be 34-years-old or 35-years-old at the end of this theoretical contract, which for most players is around the end of their prime.

In this scenario, the Astros waste no money on a big deal, and won’t be stuck paying a player who isn’t producing later in his career.

If you still aren’t convinced, let’s look at it from a pure baseball aspect. Over his career, Story has an .863 OPS over six seasons in Colorado. Correa, on the other hand, has an .837 OPS, which is slightly lower than Story’s. Correa has a 7.3 WAR compared to Trevor Story’s 5.8. Correa also provides a captain aspect and a clutch factor.

So who is the better player?

The obvious answer is Correa, but not by much. The two are very similar in batting statistics, but you have to ask yourself if the longer contract and more money that Correa wants is worth that difference. To me, it is not. If we know anything about the Astros and long contracts, I think they sign Story this offseason, once a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is in place.