12:43PM: In an update to his original story, Rosenthal writes that the Astros are “not engaged in any active conversations on Correa.” The team has, however, been in touch with LeMahieu.
11:39AM: The Astros are “floating” Carlos Correa’s name in trade talks with other teams, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (subscription required). This isn’t the first time that Correa has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate, though last year, then-general manager Jeff Luhnow shot down the possibility.
The root cause of Houston’s openness to a Correa trade remains the same — the team considers it “unlikely” that the shortstop will sign an extension before he hits free agency. Correa is now only one season away from hitting the open market, as he is slated to be part of an elite group of shortstops headlining the 2021-22 free agent class.
Beyond Correa’s contract, naturally, the Astros face an entirely new set of issues that weren’t present when they thought about moving Correa last winter, ranging from the sign-stealing scandal that ousted Luhnow and then-manager A.J. Hinch, revenue losses caused by the pandemic, to Justin Verlander being lost to Tommy John surgery for the 2021 season. Plus, the Astros also face the loss of two other notable position players, as George Springer and Michael Brantley are both free agents.
Moving Correa on top of losing both Springer and Brantley could almost make 2021 into something of a mini-rebuild type of season for Houston, though there hasn’t been any indication that the Astros are looking to take much of a step backwards. For instance, the Astros have had talks with Brantley and (as a replacement for Springer in center field) Jackie Bradley Jr.
However, Rosenthal reports that the Astros aren’t likely to pursue any of Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto, or DJ LeMahieu, as since those players rejected qualifying offers, Houston would have to give up draft picks in order to sign them. This isn’t an appetizing thought for an organization that already lost multiple picks as part of their punishment for the sign-stealing scandal. Re-signing their own free agent in Springer (who also turned down a QO) wouldn’t cost the Astros any picks, of course, though Houston might prefer to restock their draft coffers with the compensatory pick received if Springer signed elsewhere.
Trading Correa would also theoretically net a good return for the Astros, though a lot of factors will impact his market. Teams might not be keen on paying a premium for just one year of Correa’s services, and there are several other options available to shortstop-needy teams in both free agency (Marcus Semien, Didi Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons, Ha-Seong Kim) and in trades (Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez).
Correa is coming off a season that saw him hit only .264/.326/.383 over 221 plate appearances in the regular season, but he caught fire during Houston’s postseason run, with a whopping 1.221 OPS over 55 PA. Correa is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility and is projected to earn $8.8MM under the “37 percent” calculation method of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
Cohen stay away lindor or Baez much preferred
Couldn’t agree more.
Astros Gauging Trade Interest In Carlos Correa
Who can afford him?
Hell, I am still mad that he was taken #1 by the Stros in 2012
I always felt he would have fallen right into the O’s lap
However, the Astros were really smart in taking him
Anyway,,,, I am shocked that they would like to trade him
He’s the real deal in the clutch
he’s also a rental at this point
And also a cheater
Yank4Life….
And a player who usually misses big chunks of a season. I’ll give you back Cora if you keep and resign Correa.
Fits in with Yanks….. Cano,ARod,Melky,Clemens,Andy,Chucky,Sheffield,Giambi,Grimsley,Mike Stanton are known guys which led to 5 titles they cheated for. That doesn’t include guys like Jeter and Mo who knew teammates were using but didn’t blow the whistle for personal success reasons…..
Oh I’m sorry that none of the roiders on your favorite team brought home a championship.
Would fit right in on the Yanks
So you’re saying Jeter and Mo are the greatest also? Nice to see you coming around, Johnny. Who knows, one day when Correa stops cheating, he may be halfway decent. Oh shoot, he did in 2020, and he hit like .320, no (carry the one, subtract the remainder, add the….), nope it was like .265.
What I’m saying the Yankees fans are the biggest hypocrites. They get upset that another team out cheated them. Rob Manfred covered the Yankees cheating via cameras hence guys like Judge and Gio who were garbage in the minors became excellent ball players once arriving to Yanks. Wasn’t Beltran on 16 Yanks which means he implemented the system and how they knew in 17 the Astros were cheating. What I’m saying is the world would be a better place without Yankees fans
I’m a RS fan and i would never speak about the NYY fans like that. Really you need to not speak that way about another teams fans. Most of the silly stuff comes from younger fans, so it needs ignoring. We on this site to chat and have fun, nothing more. Lets all respect each others teams and fans and have fun.
Yeah tell that to the A’s fan who got doused in beer and the fans cheered that…. listen to WFAN for a little bit and you realize it’s not just “younger fans”. It’s a culture thing. It’s not a shock a Red Sox fan wouldn’t say that about the Yankees considering they are NE version of them.
Beltran literally brought the system to Houston from NY. Yankee fans are the biggest hypocrites on this website. Imagine being the reason electronic sign stealing rules had to be put in place and then acting like this.
So you two (JDubz & JDGoat) are taking isolated incidents and applying them to Yankees’ fans, generally. Then, you take the Astros cheating scandal and say it’s from NY because one individual happened to be on both teams?
You are two of the most disingenuous commenters with respect to this topic on this site…….. and you two are in another stratosphere as it pertains to hypocrisy.
JDGoat, usually you contribute to a conversation, but here, you just dove off a cliff like you were, well, one of a herd of goats.
Enjoy your ignorance….you are so totally outnumbered it’s actually kinda sad
Also cheaters, just not caught.
Hes also insanely weird. If you havent read his interviews, hes kind of a space alien. Good hitter though.
That’s bc the Astros learned from their past. They selected Phil nevin over jeter.
They went for the short stop over name an option
Draft up the middle and starting pitching. With a bunch of C, SP, SS, CF, you can mold the rest of the team. But you rarely turn a 2B into an SS, a 1B into a C, or RF/LF into a CF.
Mets can
i feel like Correa could be on the verge of a breakout if he can stay helathy next year
No reason to believe he will stay healthy. Played over 110 games in only 1 out of 6 seasons so far.
He and Seager were so ridiculously overhyped when they came up, it’s amazing to see people still clamoring after him at this point. Look at his stats, – the guy even at his best was just solid, even with the benefit of trash cans.
We in Houston have been saying that every year since we called him up.
I can’t see many teams welcoming this dbag in their dugout … he even made things worse with his ignorant mouth after they were caught cheating
Lol. Believe that all you want. Every team in the league would welcome this guy with open arms.
No, no they would not
Only teams who already have a good shortstop wouldn’t want him.
and any other team would take him as a reserve option
Yes, they would, in a heartbeat. Plenty of examples of this throughout MLB.
Probably not since you would be paying him as a starter
This guy told many of the players in the league to ‘f off’ … and continued to taunt people with his comments as recently as this past postseason … you think all of these other teams forgot about all that? I think not … especially not the Dodgers
The Dodgers already have Corey Seager so they wouldn’t want him. A team like the Brewers would absolutely want him.
I highly doubt Clayton Kershaw and the rest of the Dodgers from 2017 would be so welcoming…
No they wouldn’t.
Atlanta wouldn’t.
Lol. Bro, you really think any team that needs a shortstop would be upset with him? All the teams in the league were doing stuff they shouldn’t. Don’t think for a second LA would take him to play 3rd this next season. Get your head out of the sand.
I couldn’t disagree with you more; but to each their own… this guy should’ve just apologized like the rest of the Astros did … he cursed out his peers and continued to taunt them for over a year … his peers think he’s a piece of garbage
I would have disagreed, but the Red Sox and Tigers were very quick to welcome back both Cora and Hinch. The White Sox were so eager to hire Hinch they accidentally put his signature on the Tony La Russa promotional tweet. I’m pretty sure that if they’re welcomed back with open arms, most teams won’t have an issue with Correa based on what he did.
That’s basically my point ; those guys were welcomed back … as most of the Astros would be … but Correa went all Cavalier acting righteous and taunting other teams and other players
I can guarantee there are way more than a handful of players that don’t want to play with him
Just curious how you can guarantee this? Based off of previous league controversies players have no issue playing with the controversial players if it equals championships/more money. See the whole PED era, any player accused of domestic violence, or any player on the 2017 Astros or 2018 Red Sox. Plenty of examples of players talking crap about those players, but welcoming them with open arms when they join their teams.
Mets.
Given that he is a rental, I doubt you get a fantastic package for him. I would love Dominic Smith and another player. Smith could take over at first and Yuli could be our utility player in the final year of his deal and we could save the money on Diaz.
Smith is a better hitter than Correa and has control so why would the Mets be throwing another player in instead of the Astros having to give up more
Ha, no. I’m a Tiger fan, and hate the Mets and Astros equally, so I can provide an unbiased view on this scenario – Correa for a year, that he’ll likely only play half-to 2/3rds of, in exchange for Dom (who’s just hitting his stride, younger, and controlled thru 2024, is already a stupid overpay for the Mets, much less adding another player of any sort of value whatsoever.
Shortstop is a more valuable position tho so you have to take that into account. If Mets can extend Correa that’s probably a good trade to work around
Yep. It makes sense if you sign Correa long term. All teams value shortstop and defense up the middle more than first base.
Puhl you are correct. Dom Smith is without a position with the Mets. Holding him just to play part time is idiotic when Correa is an upgrade at SS while the prospects grow into the SS role in 2022. Mets should be all over that.
I don’t think he’d have many friends in his new clubhouse.
Pass on Carlos Tulowitzki.
:)
I’m in favor of moving him if they have decided internally that they can’t afford him. Get something for him now. We have two up and coming, great looking prospects at short. They won’t hit like CC but Nova has just as good an arm and is a plus defender. We could sign Simmons, Gregorious or someone else for a year until he is ready. I’ll miss CC but this may be the smart play.
I would think the Stros would trade Bregman = bigger return since contract is 4 more years and much cheaper than other elite 3B. Bigger salary relief and he seems to be the ring leader in their arrogant ways. Reset the clubhouse with him gone.
While I understand your stance, I’d rather have Bregman. He’s already extended at an affordable amount and is an overall more reliable player, both in performance and his ability to stay off the IL.
I would think the Astros would prefer to trade Bregman = larger return with having 4 years left on his contract and much cheaper than other elite 3B. Bregman seems to be the clubhouse ringleader in their arrogant ways, so this move would bring more return and they reset the clubhouse.
Might be difficult to get fair value for any of the main cheaters. It’s quite possible that GM’s arent going to be knocking down the door to talk with any of them.
Really not a smart take. Bregman, Altuve, Springer and Correa were already all-stars or all-star type players based on their numbers prior to the trash can deal. They have little to prove in regards to their talent, except that they have aged since that time.
Just keep him as far away from the Yankees as possible. Pass.
Cross post? :-)
Great talent, but an under performer based on injuries. Coming off a mediocre season. A key member of the scandal-ridden 2017-19 Astros. A one year rental with that resume won’t get you too much. Might be better off seeing if he has a strong first half and moving him to a contender at the deadline. Danger is he gets injured again and you get nothing.
2017-2018, not 2019.
2019, buzz buzz
You just blatantly show your bias when you say stupid stuff like this. Your names pinstripes anyways lol, I wouldn’t throw stones from glass houses…
Yet another example of a team making an above average player available for the right price. I doubt Houston will be able to move CC this year unless they are willing to take $0.60 on the dollar. The better move is to extend him a QO next year and get the draft pick when he signs elsewhere. Houston’s championship window is getting close to being slammed shut.
Better off trading Whitley. A’s will take a step back while angels, Mariners, and rangers are terrible. Trade Whitley for Grey. Reds are dumb enough to take that offer
Not opposed to trading Whitley but his value has taken a sharp nose dive because of his performance and injuries. You would get a fraction of what you would have received 2 years ago. At this point the Astros will have to keep him and take there chances…..and hope he isn’t another Appel.
I want nothing more than Lemahieu to go to the Astros. Didn’t even think about that possibility but man that would be hilarious.
You do realize if DJ goes to the Astros which all signs point to not going to happen that means the Yankees then could use that money on JT and execute a trade for Lindor judging by your screen name going to gas a Boston fan so like most Boston fans did not put much thought into your post.
What are you rambling about?
Correa has to be one of the weirdest and least likeable players in MLB, even for this Astros team. Guy comes off like an absolute psycho in every interview he’s done. The only thing worse than the words that come out of his mouth are those nasty veneers inside it
Cant see a free agent that has any other options signing with the Astros. That place is baseball purgatory, you only go there to serve your sentence when you’ve been bad
The shortsightedness of butt hurt fans is so funny. Major league jobs are very scarce. Any player would play for the Astros if the out the best offer on the table.
He’s like a box o’ chocolates…….
Astros do just enough to get in the playoffs… Win the WS and let Correa and McCullers turn down QO to get maximum draft picks in 2022… Since they’ve been deprived of 1st and 2nd round picks in 2020 and 2021 for the scandal punishment.
I think the Astros are just trying to push the price up on some of these F.A. and they won’t be *that* aggressive, let alone active, when push comes to shove. Like with DJL, I doubt they want to spend the money it’d take them to land him, nor do they want to give up the draft pick, nor would DJL particularly want to land in Houston at the moment. But I could see the ‘Stros hoping they push his market above what the Yankees are comfortable with and DJL hopes teams like the Astros making a seemingly serious play at him puts pressure on the clubs he would actually like to join- like, say, the Yankees- to give him the years and dollars he’s seeking.
I STILL think he winds up with the Yankees and the contract is front loaded. If DJL is in fact seeking and could get 5 years/$100M, I think the Yankees would be open to that kind of deal, but not with the AAV it’d carry.
Like 5 years/$102M guaranteed, option that can take it to 6 year/$120M:
$5M Signing Bonus
2021: $23M
2022: $23M
2023: $16M
2024: $15M
2025: $15M
2026: $5M buyout on $23M option- making it an $18M decision.
I just don’t see the Yankees wanting to pay DJL $20M+ *every* season for the next half decade, even if that’s what the overall numbers add up to, but he would be worth that if he kept it up to even 75% of the level he’s been playing at for them.
Maybe something like
$10M Signing Bonus
$20M
$16M
$17M
$17M
$20M
$5M buyout on $20M option.
I mean, look, they signed *Chase Headley* to 4 years/$52M going into his age 31 season, through his age 34 season. In today’s dollars that deal would be worth 4 years/$56M and they viewed Headley as a stop-gap consolation player, not their team MVP of the past two seasons. They won’t go to 5 years/$100M for DJL? I kinda think they bite the bullet and give him whatever he’s asking for, not because they’re desperate, but because he’s earned it and that’s what the market is bearing for him.
Front loading a contract in MLB has no impact on CBT calculations, as AAV is spread evenly across the term of the deal. Front loading would however make him easier to trade towards the end of his deal as the acquiring team would only need to pay the lower Year 4 or Year 5 salary.
I’d be surprised if DJL gets a 5 year deal. I would think 4 years would be the max, with most teams preferring to go 3 years + an option year.
Oh totally. I’d still prefer them do a 3 year/$61M guarantee ($20M, $20M, $20M, $1M buyout) with an option on a 4th year at $20M, but in terms of what it’d take to sign him given his market and in terms of the long term yearly budget impact that’s where I’d factor in the fluctuating year-to-year salaries and a signing bonus for DJL, especially if players still take a hit on next season’s official salaries.
DJ LeMahieu to the Metropolitans.
Question! Where would DJL play if the Astros didn’t trade Correa? You have Altuve, Bregman, Correa, Gurriel, and DJL for an infield. Does one of them know how to play the outfield? Why would they be in on DJL if they aren’t gonna trade Correa? It’s merely backwards talk.
Too fragile.
Is there some stipulation in the CBA that causes a team to get a lesser draft pick if the player signs for less than $50 million? I thought I read that somewhere. Maybe Springer or Bauer should set a one year record with $49 and screw over their former team and then come back when there is less COVID induced penny pinching.
The $50M threshold only applies to teams who receive revenue sharing. If the team who loses the player receives revenue sharing and the player signs for over $50M, they get a pick between the end of the first round and Competitive Balance A round. If the player signs for less than $50M, then the pick comes between the end of the second round and Competitive Balance B round. Since neither Bauer nor Springer played for a revenue sharing team, the size of their contract won’t impact the draft pick. If they were under the luxury tax line, they will get a pick between the end of Round 2 and Competitive Balance B no matter what they sign for. If they were over the tax threshold, then their pick comes at the end of the 4th round.
Thanks.
Why would the Astros be looking at DJLM? They already have very good players at 2B and 3B. Only makes sense if they plan to move Altuve to DH.
DJLM is a legitimate multi-positional player, and also a better defender than Altuve, so signing him would allow the Astros to rotate multiple players through the DH spot.
Platoon at 1B during regular season with Gurriel starting against RH starters and DLMH moving between 2B and 3B against RH starters and possibly getting a portion of starts against RH starters with Gurriel. Perhaps 40-50% of 1B starts go to JLMH with the remainder juggled between 2B, 3B and DH. It should be noted that Gurriel has toyed around in LF before and could be used there during the regular season to balance the AB’s out in the event Brantley is not resigned. Diaz is also scheduled to get some OF starts next year. If a defensive CF is signed and Springer and Brantley get away, I could see how DLMH could factor in to going that direction if you think Gurriel can start 20-30 games in LF in 2021, though it is hard to imagine he will play any better than when he did so at 33 and 34 years old.
Eddie Rosario type signing for corner OF starts would be ideal as he could start some games in RF as Tucker can play CF and a mediocre starting CF can get 2 days off a week during regular season. Shifting AB’s around where Diaz and Gurriel get enough secondary starts in LF with DLMH starting 85-90% of games overall of which 40-50% at least will be at 1B.
All starters games played should decline as they are getting older – Altuve especially so he can use his speed game more often when playing and resting more often to allow for higher intensity in the 120-130 games he starts as he could for 150+ games in his early and mid 20’s. If Springer leaves I think Altuve needs to bring more of his consistent hit and high energy game than the increased power hitting game. .320+ hitting Altuve with 15-20 HR’s is preferable to .280 with 30 HR’s.
I know statheads are going to point to how archaic BA and HR’s are but if you watched Altuve since he came into the league as an Astros fan, you understand the difference in type of hitter he is when being more aggressive and looking to just get on base as opposed to his drive the ball mentality in the past 4+ years. The Astros are losing athleticism with age and need to find ways to increase energy and an old-school Altuve from the 2015-2017 years for 120 games and the playoffs is preferable to 150 games of the power hitting first Altuve now that Springer and the consistent hitting of Brantley may be gone. Altuve needs to be that guy that is still hitting singles, if nothing else, when the team is down 4-0 in the 6th inning with 2 outs or the team is up 5-1 in the 6th inning but hasn’t gotten a hit in 4 innings.
Yordan is going to replace the lost run driving production from moving Altuve and Bregman to the top of the order with early 2019 version of Correa and an improved Tucker providing for the rest of the difference. I expect Yuli to hit better which makes the top 6 hitters in the top 10 of the league before considering any of the options above. Adding a Jackie Bradley Jr. (prefer other options in trade market for defense and decent contact/power) in the 9 hole and either a Rosario or JLMH, or both, would provide a strong lineup with catcher representing the only offensive position below average AND getting both would provide depth and injury protection from one of the key hitters getting injured and pushing an age 37 Gurriel into the 5 hole.
All that being said, any move this offseason better be made with the idea that the money doesn’t impact the team’s ability to pay Correa now or in future seasons in order to keep him. Those who truly watch the team closely understood how important he was to all of the teams outside of 2018 team, though he still was great defensively when not injured and had some key hits that year but was really hurt. He was looking like an MVP candidate the first two months of 2019 before being injured for the vast majority of the remaining season and managed his back into the playoffs where he was reasonably productive but not where he is capable of. Those things don’t kill you when you have an all-time talented offensive team but the pressure to avoid those patches will increase in the coming years., especially if Springer is gone and Correa is paid big money. The guy was branded the franchise savior when drafted in 2012, though not the first big prospect expected to hit the majors at that time. He whizzed through the minors quicker than anyone expected and has been much more consistent than #2 pick Buxton who Luhnow was criticized for not drafting.
This guy has been the real deal and is about to hit his prime if his back issues are behind him and are not truly structural in nature. Even if they are, he should be able to manage it well in his mid-late 20’s if it is not a relatively severe condition. Correa is a guy that you simply cannot lose regardless of what the metrics say. The team loses its remaining mojo from the past 5 years that has been so special to watch. Putting all the haters aside, the level of quality baseball the Astros played from 2017-2019 in all facets of the game was some of the greatest team baseball excellence I’ve ever witnessed for an extended period of time. The 2020 team was one that underachieved and lacked pitching consistency and had hitters distracted. The playoffs was closer to the team’s potential and keeping Correa for the long-term will go a long way to keeping close to the level of excellence experienced in recent years, though the 2019 team has to be one of the greatest all-time teams to not win the WS.
Haters are going to hate. Reasonable detractors are still going to question the validity of 2017 WS while softening rhetoric as more facts come out and the reality of the inability to do it effectively in playoffs that year. Reasonable critics are not going to discount the entire run and claim there were buzzers in 2019 etc. The Astros lost the benefit of the doubt to where if credible evidence comes out about 2019 that is groundbreaking, it will be understood if there is skepticism… but only with credible evidence.
It is simply unfortunate that a team as great as those between 2017-2019 are not going to be recognized for how great they were because of the cloud the team is under due to their own actions. The competitive window has another 4-6 years if Crane will spend adequately on retaining position player stars and the farm system is managed properly as Luhnow had done. He understood where the franchise would be at in 2020 and realized he didn’t need a bunch of position player studs in the minors and needed a volume of quality arms even if only a few are ace potential. That was to create the payroll relief needed in future years to pay for position players but realizing the team was likely to lose 1 of the 4 core guys. Position player contributors are in the pipeline but big name position player prospects need to be focused on in the next 2 years of draft and signings. Cuban signee is 23 and does not fit that bill but it would be huge for the long-term success of this team if he pans out as a legit everyday CF.
Astros might be concerned about Altuve in the field going forward after his yips in the playoffs.
Carlos to LA for Chris Taylor and Dustin May
Lindor to LA for Austin Barnes & Gavin Lux
No chance either of those trades happen.
Of course they want to get rid of him. His only elite (ish) season was with a trash can (and in only 109 games), and he’s only played more than 110 games once. Move on. Let him make too much for the Rangers. Good riddance to an unapologetic cheater.
Only way LeMahieu fits in Houston is one of four scenarios:
1) Altuve is traded, LeMahieu plays 2B
2) Correa is traded, Bregman moves to SS, LeMahieu plays 3B
3) Bregman is traded, LeMahieu plays 3B
4) no one is traded, Bregman moves to LF, LeMahieu plays 3B
LeMahieu plays first and Gurriel gets some time at first as LeMahieu moves around the infield.
If/ When Correa gets hurt, Bregman moves to short and Lemahieu plays 3B.
Lemahieu seems like a luxury for them to have. They could probably better use that money on some pitching and an outfielder or 2.
But… Astros may do it just to make the Yankees overpay or go to plan B.
I’d rather the Yankees move to plan B and go after Lindor
Someone’s willing to take Altuve’s contract? We can scratch scenario #1 off the list.
Pretty soon, people can like the Astros again, and hypocritically cheer for the cheaters who are now on their favorite teams.
DJ LeMahieu will NOT sign with the CHEATSTROS!!!
That’s adorable.