Going into the offseason, there were many parallels between the top two free agents, Carlos Correa and Corey Seager. Both were shortstops reaching free agency at the age of 27 and coming off excellent platform seasons. Seager, along with agent Scott Boras, secured a ten-year, $325MM contract from the Rangers prior to the lockout. Correa, however, did not sign before transactions were frozen and then hired the Boras corporation to represent him in January. Once the lockout is lifted, his continued search for a contract will be one of the top storylines to follow. Joel Sherman of the New York Post takes a look at some of the options, including the Dodgers, Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers and Cubs, while Ken Rosenthal and Corey Brock of The Athletic, look into the fit with the Red Sox and Mariners, respectively.
The Dodgers, of course, had Seager as their shortstop in recent years and just saw him depart for the Rangers. The expectation has been that they were comfortable enough with that loss because they could rely on Trea Turner to take over at short. If the Dodgers were to then pivot to Correa, however, that would likely involve Turner moving over to second base, much like he did when he and Seager were on the roster together after he was acquired from the Nationals at last year’s trade deadline. Since Turner is just one year away from free agency, signing a long-term deal with Correa could be a way to proactively address the shortstop void one year before it’s absolutely necessary. This scenario seems to have been already considered by the Dodgers’ brass, as Sherman reports that they offered Seager a $275MM deal before he signed with the Rangers. However, he also notes that it might not be as simple as swapping Correa in for Seager, as Correa’s role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal might not go over so well with fans of the Dodgers, since they were defeated by that now-infamous team in the 2017 World Series.
That same issue is present with another reported suitor, the Yankees, as they were felled by the Astros in the 2017 ALCS. But Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman has previously stated that the reaction of the fans “is not going to enter my calculus right now.” Since Gleyber Torres was moved to second base last year, it was expected that the Yankees would be major players in this year’s shortstop market. However, they may be willing to eschew a big splash, preferring to target a short-term stopgap option to hold down the position until it’s taken over by one of their prospects, either Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe. It’s also possible that this is merely a posture for negotiating purposes and that the club may emerge as a genuine suitor for Correa. Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets that they did check in with Correa prior to the lockout, but seemed to prefer Seager. Since Correa was reportedly looking for a contract slightly above what Seager eventually got, it may be difficult for a deal to come together.
The Blue Jays have less of an obvious need for Correa, given the presence of Bo Bichette at short. Sherman opines that the club could sign Correa and then bump Bichette to either second or third, but then downplays the possibility of them dishing out a contract nearing Correa’s asking price. Given the fact that they were reportedly in the mix for Seager prior to the lockout, the possibility can’t be ruled out entirely. The sign-stealing situation clearly isn’t an issue for the Jays, as they’ve already signed George Springer, Correa’s teammate in Houston. But even if they do have the payroll to make a big splash after the lockout, they may use it to make a run at Freddie Freeman instead.
The Tigers have long been considered a speculative fit for Correa, given the fact that their manager is A.J. Hinch, who previously managed Correa in Houston. However, they already made a big investment at shortstop when they signed Javier Baez prior to the lockout. Although Baez played some second base with the Mets last year in deference to Francisco Lindor and could theoretically do the same again, it still would be shocking to see them double down in such an aggressive fashion. Sherman also speculates that the Cubs could be a dark horse here. The club was primarily focused on tearing down last year, trading away most of the core pieces from their previous competitive window, including Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Since the offseason began, they have been surprisingly active in making additions, bringing on Marcus Stroman, Yan Gomes and Wade Miley. However, those players were all brought aboard with short-term commitments and pivoting to the type of lengthy deal that would be required to sign Correa seems unlikely at this stage.
As for the Red Sox, Rosenthal lays out a scenario where Correa takes over as their shortstop given that his defense is far superior to that of Xander Bogaerts, who could be shuffled over to second base. However, he also points out that, given the lockout-shortened Spring Training to come, there will be less time for Bogaerts to develop his skills at a new position than there would be in a more normal year, perhaps making the plan too awkward to implement successfully. After this season, Bogaerts can opt-out of the three years and $60MM that will be remaining on his contract, something that he seems likely to do if he has another healthy and productive season. Signing Correa now could be a way for Boston to preemptively replace Bogaerts, but as Rosenthal points out, the club hasn’t signed a free agent contract larger than $14MM since Chaim Bloom became the club’s chief baseball officer. Suddenly dropping $300MM on the table would be a huge departure in strategy. However, it’s exactly because of that avoidance of significant commitments that the club’s future payroll is fairly blank. If Bogaerts does indeed opt out after this season, that would leave Chris Sale as the only serious commitment on the books.
For the Mariners, Brock doesn’t believe it likely that there’s a match here. However, he points out that, if Correa is interested in going to Seattle, they have the money to make it happen. The club’s payroll for the year is currently around $87MM, in the estimation of Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. From 2015 to 2019, the club’s annual budget hovered in the $120-160MM range, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. That leaves plenty of breathing room, if the club is willing to push up to those spending levels again in an attempt to build on last year’s 90-win campaign. The team’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto previously stated that the club wouldn’t supplant J.P. Crawford as the team’s shortstop, but it’s hard to imagine that strategy is so etched in stone that they wouldn’t consider adding a talent like Correa if the stars aligned for them to do so.
Clearly, there are many ways Correa’s market could play out once the lockout ends. With the freezing of transactions and contract negotiations, we can’t really know the intentions of any of these parties until that ice breaks and dominos start falling again. Due to the compressed timeline that will eventually exist between the signing of a new CBA and the start of the season, this will all have to play out in an expedited fashion. And with Boras also representing many other high-profile free agents like Bryant, Nick Castellanos, Michael Conforto, Carlos Rodon and more, that figures to make the situation all the more frenzied.
There’s a price that the Yankees or Dodgers will sign Correa, but it will be a discounted price. He’ll sign with a surprise team.
The chances of Correa signing with the Dodgers would be overestimated at zero. Even if you discount the fan reaction, they’ve already passed on the only high-priced SS they might have signed.
Exactly. Why would the Dodgers let their own stud SS leave only to spend huge money on Correa? Meanwhile, the Yankees need to sign their RFer and have three SS’s listed in Fangraphs top-100 prospects. Even the big market teams need to manage assets and financial resources.
Correa and Seager are very different players (Seager’s not really a SS anymore, but the Rangers will ignore that for a couple years). That’s not the reason the Dodgers aren’t signing Correa. The reason is named Trea Turner, who might be better than both of them.
@seamaholic 2- no I definitely think Trea Turner is better than Seager and Correa. If I’m the Dodgers I steer away from the Cheater Correa. I imagine they can’t stand him as much I do.
Given that the Dodgers made an offer to Seager, it’s pretty clear they were prepared to play T. Turner primarily at 2B again. He’s a stopgap at either position anyway. After this season (assuming it gets played) SS is wide open for the Dodgers.
Everyone cheats. You just hate the ones that get caught.
Wander Javier doesn’t cheat. He’s all natural
They’ll ignore it until he blows up a knee and misses a year or more. But with all his constant injuries that seem to happen out of nowhere, it might be a while before he’s out there long enough to blow his knee up. It will go down as one of the worst free signings in history of the game. The guy is made of glass.
The top excuse of cheaters everywhere.
Could totally see the Dodgers signing him. Just to bring him to camp, then in the middle of the night, going all full metal jacket on his arse. Soap in pillowcase style
I think it’s Mark P who got me excited for him as an Oriole. Keep dreaming I guess. Would love if they made a move
LA of Anaheim will sign him and it will just be Angry Arte’s latest contract misadventure. It will be terrible.
I wonder if Xander Bogaerts would willingly move to second base?
Seems like it would make more sense for the Sox to simply approach Bogaerts after the lockout ends and discuss upping his salary in the final 3 years of his contract to similar levels as Seager and Correa. Bogaerts is a better offensive player than Correa although not as good defensively. But keeping him around the next 3 years and hoping Mayer develops into their next SS after that seems like a better overall approach.
@ M M-Birks – Bogaerts has stated that he is willing to move off short. I hope he doesn’t do that for correa, one cheater on the Sox is already one too many.
Correa should just sign a 1 year deal with someone and try to get his money next year. It will NOT be with the Yankees though. Anyone who states: “Jeter did not deserve any of the Golden Gloves he won”, on top of the cheating scandal of 2017, would not be welcomed in NY. Cano sold out for the almighty dollar in Seattle and only got money for it. I hope for the same for Correa.
It was a weird statement by Correa (even if true) because it says he either knows the Yankees have zero interest in him, or it confirms why the Yankees won’t sign him: he’s media tone-death, a problem A-Rod had too. He should at minimum want the market to believe the Yankees are in on him. Cashman may not take fan reaction into account (he shouldn’t), but he does not want to bring in another media lightning rod to cause distraction. The fact that Judge doesn’t particularly like Correa won’t help. Fan reaction won’t matter, but club house chemistry and media distractions are two things Cashman does take into account. The tabloids and the sports talkshows are praying for Correa, but Cashman is not having any of it. Maybe Story is they want to sign a SS.
@RobM- unfortunately the Yankees will probably pass on Story, unless he signs for 1 year according to reports. We’ll see.
They’ve been passive on this entire SS market, so I believe you’re correct. It’s possible that they wanted to see the new terms of the CBA before they make a splash, but it’s more likely they plan for one of their top SS prospects to take over there in a year, and they’ll spend their money elsewhere. I still do leave the door slightly ajar for Story. They’ve always liked him, so if his market is a bit soft post the lockout, they might step in. I wouldn’t count on it though.
A-Rod’s big problem in NY wasn’t being gone deaf to the media as much as it was him being a clearly better player than Saint Jeter and most NY fans and even Jeter couldn’t handle that. NY would have been a much better team in the mid 2000s if Jeter had been able to swallow his pride and move to 3B and let the better player have SS when they acquired A-Rod. And his jealousy of the fact that A-Rod was more talented even kept him from openly coming out on his side to the fans and media right away. NY fans don’t like to hear that about their hero but he wasn’t much of a leader in how he handled that whole situation.
Arod’s biggest problem was being a great player while on PEDs. For him to bash Jeter in that SI article was a bad thing, especially after he became a Yankee.
Imagine letting your ego get in the way of signing a great player.
RobM, Correa is very media friendly. I don’t get your comment that he’s “media tone deaf” like A-Bot
Thickiedon, there is media friendly, and there is media smart. Correa may be the former, but his comments suggest he isn’t the latter. The NY tabloid media will eat him alive with those type of comments.
Actually, general mangers should take fans’ reactions into consideration.
Actually, general mangers should take fans’ reactions into consideration.
Actually, general mangers should take fans’ reactions into consideration.
Baseball fans are very consistent. You hit a he, you are a hero…until you strike out..then you’re a bum……
They have incredibly short memories unless you die…..
The American public are best described with expletives.
Well, I mean whatever you think about Correa he is 100% correct about Jeter. He put up a positive dWAR in exactly 3 out of 21 seasons at SS. He was always a mediocre-to-poor defensive player.
Not that anyone cares about Gold Gloves, anyway. They are completely meaningless awards.
Jeter wasn’t Vizquel or Ozzie Smith. We all can agree on that. He was a life long Yankee, and a HOF’er though so attacking him was a poor decision on his part, if he wanted the Yankees in on him. Let him go the best player on a last place team
So to be a Yankee you have to kiss Jeter’s ass? Seems like a weird cult.
It’s much more likely that the Yankees acquire Elvis Andrews from Oakland in a package that includes Matt Olson. Taking Andrews back would lighten the prospect package needed to get Olson, but it will still be a hefty price. Peraza would definitely be part of the package along with a couple more Top 10 prospects: Gil + their best OF prospect not named Jasson? Not sure if Cashman is willing to let that much talent go, but short of signing Story on a 1 year contract, this might be the best way to go. Perhaps they could get Oakland to include a pitcher too. Olson, Andrews + Manaea or Bassitt to NYY for Peraza, Gil, Schmidt, Florial & Voit. It’s a high price for NY to pay but it would really improve the Yankees chances in 2022. Adding Olson & Manaea or Bassitt would address most of the Yankees concerns right now. Andrews is well past his prime at SS but he should have one more decent year left in him until Volpe is ready to take over. NY needs to unload Voit anyways so the question is if NY is willing to let Peraza, Gil & Schmidt go. Florial really isn’t a legit prospect anymore but Oakland needs some OF depth so Florial checks that box for them.
No, you just don’t say anything. It’s not a crime to keep your opinion to yourself.
Point is if he was on the Cubs or Brewers or the not so great teams he wouldn’t be in the Hall of fame on numbers alone.
Pangolin4 hours ago
Well, I mean whatever you think about Correa he is 100% correct about Jeter. He put up a positive dWAR in exactly 3 out of 21 seasons at SS.
===================================
It’s almost humorous to look at Jeter’s DRS in Fangraphs. He played forever, and DRS is a cumulative stat, but he had the largest negative DRS in history, by a wide margin. Jeter is at -162. Slick fielding Cecil Fielder is 2nd at -100. Hanley Ramirez is #3 at -74.
Imagine being twice as bad as Hanley?
Correa’s nuts if he thinks he’s worth that much considering his reputation with fans of suitor cities. I’m guessing he pushed too hard on his number and other teams went with other options, so he went to Boras because he blames representation. Not sure where he’s going to go if he isn’t offering up a discount. A lot of those teams have been stingy with money as of late. Tough sell to Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees.
And yet not everyone wants to play for Yankees, Red Sox or Dodgers (gee wonder why (smirk , smirk). Bad weather in the fall, most over rated, fans don’t care ( show up late for a game and leave early).
You are worth what you can get, in my book every player in MLB is over paid. The real loser’s will be the fans that are paying $650 to see a game for a family of 4
The Tigers chose not to spend 300+ million on Correa and wisely signed Baez. They are out of this speculation.
Totally agree that’s all just been idle chatter. Just because the Rangers said, “Hey, let’s go sign 2 expensive shortstops!” doesn’t mean a trend has started. Correa is NOT going to Detroit.
Story at the time said Tigers made $275M offer to Correa and his old representation and it was turned down.
Since then Tigers signed Baez for half that amount and Correa has a new agent. If so, it would appear he needs to get or beat $275M just to not have this be a total disaster.
Correa should have taken the $275M offer from the Tigers and i highly doubt they’re going to come back and offer him anything higher than that at this time considering they signed Baez, have Scoop signed to a 2yr contract to play 2nd and several prospects in the minors who should be ready within the next 2-3 years. This also provides them w payroll flexibility over the next few years to sign their own free agents (Mize, Green, Torkelson) when they need to, especially since Miggy’s $32M/yr contract comes off the books after 2023
This dude is going to be a Yankee. Fans will be so conflicted until he hits his first big hit and all will be forgiven.
He’s only ever going to be in Houston. Dudes a tool, always hurt, and soaked in controversy.
Which is exactly why the Astros don’t want him either.
One tool? Or five?
Surprisingly there was no mention of free agent SS Trevor Story in this article. All the talk about where Carlos Correa lands in the wake of the signings of two other premier shortstops, Corey Seager and Javier Baez, not to mention the potential displacement of four others in Trea Turner, Bo Bichette, Xander Bogaerts and J.P. Crawford.
Well the article is named “Latest on Carlos Correa” so it makes sense to me that Trevor Story isn’t mentioned in the article. It covers some other FA SS’s who have signed because Correa was an option for some of those teams (Detroit, Rangers, etc). Correa is going to get paid by someone; that we all know. I’m just not convinced that he’s going to beat Seager’s contract with Texas.
True enough. However, Trevor Story will be Carlos Correa’s main competition in free agency once the lockout ends. The teams mentioned in this extensive article that might have interest in Correa would also view Story as an alternative and likely a much less expensive one in terms of total or AAV dollars. Just saying…
Given that the players paid little or no penalties for their part in the cheating scandal, I kinda like that Correa’s “market’ has been affected.
My prediction: Washington Nationals. With Soto’s clock ticking, they’re going to have to re-open that window in sooner rather than later, and while Correa won’t make them a contender, it’ll go a considerable distance toward making their everyday lineup better and leave them in the market for pitching next season.
@Devlsh- I can see the Nationals stepping in last 2nd and signing Correa. I wonder when Washington trades Soto if he doesn’t want to sign there long-term?His value might never be as high as it is right now. Already starting Aaron Judge and Luke Voit- Juan Soto trade rumors.
Soto’s value is no longer at its peak given that he has already out priced himself for all but a few teams. Any team trading for him knows its a short term acquisition.
@Yankees4Life – Are you saying there could be a trade between NY & Wash where Soto would go to NY in exchange for Judge & Voit? There’s zero chance of that happening. There’s no way Wash trades Soto for a player (Judge) who will be 30 and has 1 year of control left and a often-injured 1B who has 1-2 years left of control.
The cost to acquire Soto right now would be staggering for any team. If the Yankees were that team, that package would look something like this: Volpe, Dominguez, Gil, Wells & 1 or 2 MLB players like Torres, Voit, Judge, etc. Judge & Voit would merely be supplemental pieces to a much more expensive cost (prospect wise) for NY.
I could see Judge being included in a deal for Soto, but one year of Judge is only a small downpayment on the acquisition cost for Soto. Judge would be a nice bandaid to stop the bleeding short term for Nats fans, as they replace a potential 8.5-win Soto with a potential 6.5-win Judge. Basically, “throwing in” Judge could be what makes the deal happen for the Nats. Every team would offer prospects. The Yankees could offer prospects and Judge. Yet, why would they? They’d have to strip their farm, and all they be doing is replacing Judge with Soto. An improvement, but one with the potential for greater long-term damage. I could only see it happening if the Yankees decided, “screw it, we’re signing Correa and Freeman, and we’re installing Soto out in RF. Not happening.
@RobM- I got to disagree with you regarding Judge as a “throw in” as far as a trade with the Nationals. He is an All-Star just like Soto. Yes,Judge only has one year left before free agency, but it sounds like Soto wouldn’t be signing an extension with a trade to the Yankees to make a trade happen. Obviously it wouldn’t be just Judge and Voit going to Washington for Soto. The Yankees would have to trade more prospects to make a deal happen. Voit would be more like a “throw in” in a trade for Soto. Dominguez or Volpe would likely not be included. But at least 3 Yankee prospects in their top 10-12 would be.
@Dorothy_Mantooth- the Yankees have enough prospects to trade to the Nationals. They don’t have to part with Dominguez or Volpe to get a deal done with the Nationals. Peraza or Vargas. Wells or Sweeney. Gil or Schmidt. Aaron Hicks or Luke Voit. Mike King or Al Abreu could all be included in a trade with Judge. Do you see the Yankees definitely have the pieces to get Juan Soto in a package with the Nationals? It’s not certain that Soto would sign an extension with the Yankees if a trade we’re to happen. Keep in mind his agent is Scott Boras.
Get real. The Dodgers signing Correa would be a clubhouse and PR disaster. There are at least a few players that definitely don’t want him there. The fans really don’t want him there. Just imagine a sold out Dodger Stadium when he goes through one of his slumps and chokes in the ninth with the bases loaded. Yeah, it’s gonna go from awkward to ugly quick. It’s not happening. To waste anyone’s time even entertaining the thought is laughable.
It wasn’t like LA wasn’t doing the same thing. Bellinger is the biggest recipient of the sign stealing era in the league.
He said, without a shred of evidence.
Correa is about as welcome in the other MLB cities as a Russian invasion.
There were just too many FA SS’s looking for big dollar contracts and not enough teams looking for one. Its a game of musical chairs. Both Story and Correa waited too long, and mispriced themselves in the market. It will be interesting to see if either gets what they were hoping for.
Story will sign before Correa, and I maybvery well be a pillow contract. Correa’s problem is there are very few logical fits at this point. Hiring Boras was a Hail Mary in hopes he can talk an owner into ham stringing his organization for the next decade or so with an albatross contract. That’s what Boras does, but it will be under a different CBA.
The Yankees seemed like frontrunners to me for Seager and no one else. Lefty power bat who could move to 3B soon, what’s not to love. They have too many top SS prospects to get stupid at the position right now imo but who knows with them.
Why anyone would pay $340 million over 10 years for this guy is mind boggling. Take a look at the history of large contracts and there are many of them. I can think of only one who worked out – Max Scherzer’s with the Nats
Although aided with PED’s, Manny Ramirez’s 10 year deal worked out well for Boston/LA. He even signed an extension after that deal.
Dotty – It was an 8-year contract, 2001-2008.
And his numbers after joining the Dodgers were insane, I will always believe the Sox would have won another championship in 2008 if Manny had stayed with the team … even with Bay putting up decent numbers after Manny left.
For all the craziness, Manny was pretty good for us..8x AS, 2 WSC, weak fielder on the road, but a plus fielder at home with the way he played the wall. And I never saw him not hustle, when hustling counted. 58 assists in LF in 7.5 years.
Jeter with the Yankees as well
I foresee Correa signing a 2 year deal at around $75 million to play for Hinch in Detroit.
I’m not sure Correa would accept a 2 year deal unless there was an opt out after Year 1. The biggest allure to signing Correa long term right now is his age (27). Once he turns 29 or 30, he’ll be lucky to find a deal over 6 years in duration unless he plays at an MVP level for the next two seasons. Correa either gets his 10 year deal after the lockout is lifted or agrees to a huge ($40M), one year contract with a team that hopes to compete for a title in 2022. Then he’ll get another shot at an 8-9 year deal at age 28. I hope Boras sets realistic expectations with him though. I don’t see Correa beating Seager’s terms over the next 10 years. We all know that Correa believes he is the best SS (if not best player) in MLB, but teams don’t feel the same way. Plus the cheating scandal and his poorly thought out statements to the media (i.e. Jeter comments) will not help him find the record setting deal he is looking for. If he gets a 10/$280M offer, he really should swallow his pride and take it. He can add a couple of opt outs to that deal but he’d never exercise them as the first one probably won’t kick in until year 3 of his deal.
@OneLoneGone- Yes hopefully. Cheaters deserve one another. Hinch and Correa are definitely a fine duo. Maybe they can find more ways to cheat together in Detroit?
The Yankees MO has often been to sign players off of other teams to tilt the balance in their favor. When it worked with Damon, they went all in on Ellsbury. Since it worked with Cole, they will probably go all in on Correa. History repeats itself. Stanton, Rizzo, Gallo, Kluber, Taillon, Chapman were all among the best players on their teams, too expensive for those losers, so the Yankees snagged them. I imagine their offices are lined with giant posters of Freddie Freeman right now. This is how they buy their 95 wins every year, it works for them.
I actually see none of the big names ( Correa, Freeman, Story etc) going to the Yankees. They might not even resign Rizzo. Why? Brandon Mayea.
I am not an Astros fan and I have no “skin in the game”.
But, isn’t it a “Cheap shot” to keep bringing up the “sign stealing scandal” regarding the Astros.?!
During the sign stealing investigation, the Yankees and the Red Sox were found to have been cheating and stealing signs for 7-10 years, But, they got off relatively easy, again, for all their cheating(complete with video rooms).
They did not bang trash cans.
However, they were more sophisticated in their cheating efforts.
MLB and the Media have made the Astros the scapegoats of MLB league wide sign stealing scandal.
Talk about” the pots calling the kettle black”.
The Yankees won multiple Championships with “Roided up” cheating rosters.
And, the Media has continually slammed the Astros and given other cheating teams, like the Yankees, Red Sox, and others, a relatively “free pass”…
Nope
Cheater cheater pumpkin eater. All day. And all of the night
I don’t think it’s far to call using technology and coded signs to using steroids. Steroids was a league-wide issue.. The Astros scandal was very much organization specific.
Sign stealing investigation showed that sign stealing was a league wide issue.
Astros were made the scapegoats for their very short term sign stealing.
Teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox had been cheating and sign stealing for much longer and, for the most part, were not disciplined for it by the league.
Steroids was a “league wide issue also”
The Cubs will have one, if not two of Olson, Correrra, Castellanos, or Freeman come opening day.
I doubt it.
Ownership does not want to spend that kind of $$$$
IRT Correa, I’m hoping the Yankees sign him to a huge contract. Of course, I’m a RS fan, so take that for what it’s worth.
I’m not sure the Yankees can get under the cap, but if I were them, I’d sign a low-end SS for two years, keep Voit, and platoon him and DJ, with DJ cycling in at 2B and 3B.
Instead of signing a SS or 1B, sign a CF and use Hicks as a high-end #4. And then extend Judge.
They got under the cap last year, and there are a number of big contracts coming off the books after this year ( Chapman, Judge, Britton, Gallo and Sanchez).
Dodgers need to sign Freeman, then lock up Trea Turner on a 6 year deal with couple options. Get creative on a 3 year deal with pollock. Sign Jansen to a performance loaded contract. Start training Lux at third or find one.
I understand the owners pushing back on some of the union’s demands around huge minimum salary increases and a $100M + bonus pool for pre-arb players, but I don’t understand why they are so steadfast on keeping the CBT limits low and actually increasing the penalties for exceeding the CBT. Are they so undisciplined that they have to put these restrictions in just to protect themselves from themselves? Set the CBT at $250M or even $300M, but have a team budget and stick to it. If they don’t want to spend more than $200M on salaries then don’t do it! This is what the mid-market teams do today and they have been successful with it. Having the CBT higher could work to their advantage too. If one of these teams is having a good season and has the chance to improve the team at the deadline with a high priced, pending free agent, they can acquire that player and not subject themselves to unnecessary penalties. Then the following season, they can go back to their payroll budget.
A HIGH cap will allow players to ask for $50m a year, then $60m a year.
I’m ok starting the cap at $230m, then adding $5m a year for the contract length. More importantly, they need a pool that will reward the young kids with extra money if they have MVP/ROY type years. I think a $30m pool for the Top 30 pre-arbitration players would be good. The Angels got 3 MVP years from Trout and only paid him a combined $2m for those 3 years. That’s not right.
The service time manipulation is the other thing that needs to get fixed. I don’t know how they will agree on that one though. That’s going to be a fight
@dorothy
The CBT is wanted by the small market teams. All have paid their franchise fees/costs, yet teams like NY and LA have advantages due to market size. They are supposed to be equal partners. The CBT helps prevent the NYY from out spending other teams in their division by 3 to 1. Its not there because NY and LA want it. Its there because BAL and TB, PIT and CIN, MIA and MLW want it.
Yes. It is the small market teams who are ‘hijacking’ the labor talks. They want the CBT and are also against any minimum salary floor. These are the same teams that are also receiving revenue-sharing from the other owners.
Honestly, who among you true fans of teams (I’m a die-hard Tigers fan) really want you club to spend 12-$350M on this player? I was truly excited at first when late last year it came out that Detroit (and specifically Chris Illitch) was going to open up the wallet and try to contend again, and that the first big dog they’d go after was going to be Correa. But then as the off-season started and I looked at all the things that come along with CC (cheating scandal inflated numbers? multiple injuries, etc) I really didn’t want to have that long of a deal offered to a player that has been so up and down in his career.
So now I guess I would just like to hear others opinions on whether you’d be excited to have him on your squad. And of course at first there’s excitement, but for most teams that contract really takes away ALOT of financial space to do much else. So is a player of CC abilities really worth hamstringing an organizations finances? What are the pros and cons of such a signing?
So…have you.realized, drinking Kool Aid can kill a human who is dying of thirst?
What should the Tiger’s payroll be?
Divide that number by 26.
You should readily be able to see how idiotic it is to sign one player to that much of a percentage of the payroll.
I am ok with it if he can carry the team and most importantly- buy a Tiger cap into Cooperstown Hall of Fame…then I am ok with it because. The team will be making.money forever – literally- forever- off of that one player.
He will sign with the Nationals or Angels. The Angels won 77 games, that with Trout and Rendon both missing over 100 games each. The first 2 months of the season trying to get their rotation straightened out. Syndergaard along with Sandoval starting the season in the starting rotation will help. Now will the Angels have an elite starting rotation? No far from. The biggest question in the Angels rotation is, can Ohtani stay healthy and repeat what he did last season. The Angels need to fill a hole at SS. Figure out who the backup catcher will be. The Nationals are needing a SS and give Soto, protection in that lineup.
As a Yankee fan I’d still rather have Correa over Judge. Correa on a longterm contract would work out better than Judge. Judge is a fan favorite but he’ll be Ellsbury 2.0
@Yanks2- no way. Let’s take Judge back on a 6 year extension with a club option for a 7th. Let the hated Correa sign with the Red Sox for top dollar for 12 or 13 years or for how many years he’s looking for? Pass on Correa for the Yankees.
Leave it to that worthless Rosenthal to say something stupid about Bogey’s defense compared to Correa. Give Correa one year playing next to the Butcher of Boston and see how big an impact is made on his range and his runs saved since Devers hasn’t figured out that third base does not include the right side of the shortstop position.
Then give Bogey one year playing next to Bregman and see who has better numbers between him and Correa. That’s why the modern metrics are so incredibly inaccurate. Devers hurts Bogey’s numbers and Bregman helps Correa’s numbers. Too bad a one season experiment to prove it can’t be run.
Devers hurts the team with bad hands, a slow first step, an inability to read the short hop, an inability to know which balls to his left to pursue and which to leave for Bogaerts, an erratic arm, an inability to charge slow hit ground balls and bare hand them then throw accurately. Basically, he simply sucks at every aspect of fielding. He even tips over when he’s going to misplay the ball so the scorekeeper doesn’t give him an error due to the difficulty of the play. The problem is the play isn’t difficult and the modern metrics can’t discern the difference so his extremely low fielding percentage .936 is artificially inflated!!! How scary is that!!
Bogey and the pitching staff deserve better and have for going on 6 years!!!
Aside from one year of Adrian Beltre the Sox have not exactly been blessed with Gold Glove talent at the hot corner since Wade Boggs left. Scott Cooper, Tim Naehring, John Valentin, Shea Hillenbrand, Bill Mueller, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell, Will Middlebrooks, Pablo Sandoval each saw significant time at 3B over the past 30 seasons.
Chaim Bloom is not likely to sign anyone to a contract even remotely close to what Correa is looking for, so unless they get him on a cheap pillow deal i wouldn’t worry how Devers will effect his defense
@Rsox- yes a “pillow deal” would be perfect for a cheater. Make sure some covers are included with any deal with the Red Sox.
Quick look at the stats seems to show that Cooper was actually a pretty good third baseman.
This just in…cheater!
DDT = If they’ll take Cora they’ll take Correa. At least Correa has some talent!!
Knock off the BS. Correa will not be going to Boston.
I have no idea where that came from. I don’t see the RS signing any position players for that type of money. A genuine ace maybe, but we have plenty of hitting, and more hitting and infielders on the way.
I’m thinking a reunion with Houston seems like the play that makes the most sense. They did offer him 5/160 before he hit free agency, which might be a lowball, but it still is 32M AAV and he can test the market again at age 32. Assuming health (which is always a concern with him), it’s reasonable to expect that he can maintain his production for the next 5 years. They’re an already built world series contender, so if he’s mainly interested in chasing rings it’s a fit. The teams mentioned in this article already have SS locked in with good players, and the Yankees are likely more interested in a short-term stopgap until Volpe/Peraza are ready. Aside from that, the Angels and Cubs make lots of sense too since they can spend money and have openings at SS. Cubs just blew up their championship core at the last deadline but they pivoted and signed Stroman this winter so they’re probably thinking they can keep trying to win. The Angels wouldn’t be the Angels if they didn’t sign an injury prone superstar to a mega contract, and the Pujols contract is finally off the books so they have room in their annual budget.