What a Carlos Correa Return Would Mean For The Astros

Why a one-year contract would make sense money wise for both sides.

The options for where Correa can go are narrowing. He turned down the Detroit Tigers’ 10-year $275 million offer and there seems to be no more movement with those negotiations.

The Yankees have now traded for a brand new left side of their infield in Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and have burgeoning middle infield prospects making the need for a long term mega deal less pressing, not to mention they already have one with Gerrit Cole and you really don’t want to hamstring your team with two decade long mega-contracts running concurrently.

The Mets could afford him but they just shelled out 10 years and $341 million to Francisco Lindor last year not to mention their splurges on Max Scherzer and Starling Marte.

The Dodgers are another team that could afford him but they have Trea Turner. The Cubs seem to be the biggest competitor at this point but they’re also not currently in a competitive position, something that seems to mean something to Correa especially in his prime years where he can be most helpful and productive to a team on the rise, not on the build.

The Rangers already have paid for their middle infield, so who’s really left?

The Astros.

But, they aren’t willing to go to the 10-year mark on a contract. So the one year contract option where Correa runs it back for an exorbitant amount could be the best of both worlds for both sides.

Correa gets the chance to prove his mega-deal value beyond one fully healthy season and the Astros don’t get locked into a long term deal that could hurt their prospects of staying competitive in the future.

If the Astros do give out $45 million to him for one year their roster is already pretty set as is. It wouldn’t be preventing them from signing anyone else they want and it gives the Astros what they should have had these past two years, which is a monster offense headlined by soon to be Hall of Famer Justin Verlander.

We forget this team made it to within a game of the World Series in 2020 and two games of winning the World Series in 2021, all without their reigning Cy Young winner.

Add Correa to the 2022 Astros and it seems hard to see why they wouldn’t be favorites to win another AL pennant considering the bullpen and rotation improved and now the best offense in baseball remains in tact and prospects we once needed can now be trade bait.

While it’s possible they hammer out a long term deal, Correa needs to sign sooner rather than later as Spring Training starts on March 17, and you really don’t want to miss any prep time if you’re potentially taking a one year deal to prove your value again.

The one year mega deal is a quick solution and Correa still will be in his prime if he so chooses to leave the Astros next year while the Astros will then not be locked into big money long term.