More details emerge on Astros' desperate long-shot Carlos Correa trade pursuit

Houston Astros fans awoke on Wednesday to a pretty wild development when it comes to the trade deadline. Apparently, the Astros have been reaching out to the Twins about a Carlos Correa reunion, which was certainly not on anyone's bingo card to start the day. For the moment, such a trade does not appear to be close, although there are whispers that Correa is open to the move if it came to pass.

Obviously, Bob Nightengale's initial report on the Astros' interest in Correa stirred up a lot of excitement at the possibility of one of the greatest recent Astros players returning to Houston. Unfortunately, fans may want to pump the brakes on dusting off their old Correa jerseys or buying new ones, as The Athletic's beat writers for the Twins and Astros, Chandler Rome and Dan Hayes, seem to think that the chances of a Correa trade by the Astros are unlikely as of now.

Astros and Twins insiders throw cold water on chances of a Carlos Correa trade

Given that the Astros now have an opening at third base with Isaac Paredes out with a hamstring injury, kicking the tires on Correa, given their familiarity with him, makes tons of sense. Minnesota does need to shed some payroll as they go through the process of being sold and going nowhere this season, and Correa's salary is certainly a long-term problem for them.

However, according to Rome and Hayes, they don't seem to think that Correa talks have progressed particularly far yet. Not only does there appear to be a pretty significant gap between the two sides at the moment, but the Astros do have some concerns about the long-term roster implications, as they don't see Paredes as a second baseman, they already have an All-Star at shortstop in Jeremy Peña, and Correa may not want to move to second.

The good news is that Correa is seen as likely to approve a trade to the Astros if the two teams can come to terms, as he still has a home in the Houston area, and owner Jim Crane is a big fan of Correa even now. Bridging the existing gap in talks is going to be no small task, so for now, this is just a fun idea that is worth keeping an eye on and nothing more.

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