Astros out of another free agent shortstop sweepstakes

The Houston Astros miss out on another top free agent shortstop. This time it is with former Colorado Rockie Trevor Story, who inks a six-year, $140 million deal with the Boston Red Sox, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, Story was courting multiple suitors after the announcement Carlos Correa’s contract with the Minnesota Twins. The primary teams in the mix were the Red Sox, the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers, the New York Yankees, and of course, the Astros.

While not quite the household-name that Correa is, Story has been consistent over his six seasons with Rockies. The righty is a two-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger, finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 and finished in the top 12 of Most Valuable Player voting in three separate seasons.

Since his callup in 2016, the 28-year-old amassed 21.6 career Wins Above Replacement, which puts him in the top 50 amongst active Major League Baseball players. For perspective, Correa sports a 25.1 WAR with an extra season on Story.

With Story and Correa signing elsewhere, are the Astros sold on Jeremy Peña as the shortstop of the future?

At the start of spring training, manager Dusty Baker noted the Astros were going to give Peña the most time at shortstop in March. But, it is unclear that the prospect will be the starting shortstop by Opening Day, start as bench depth or take more innings in Triple-A.

Beyond re-signing Justin Verlander and signing Hector Neris to sure up the pitching corps, it seems the Astros are content on giving Peña a shot as the starting shortstop next season.

Owner Jim Crane and general manager James Click remained adamant that they had continued interest in Correa. However, many fans felt like this may have been an attempt to save face, as the Astros weren’t truly committed to the idea of a blockbuster contract.