Carlos Correa is the top player available in this MLB free-agent class, and the Houston Astros have reportedly made one last offer to the superstar shortstop before he tests the open market.
While the Average Annual Value on the offer is fine, the years and dollars are likely quite lower than what Correa will ultimately sign for.
Mark Berman of Houston’s Fox 26 reports that the Astros offered Correa a five-year, $160 million deal (32 million per year).
MLB sources: The @astros have offered free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa a five-year contract worth $160 million, averaging $32 million a year.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) November 6, 2021
Astros offer to Correa was bumped from $125M for 5. But considering he’s now a free agent, after leading the league in WAR among position players, they aren’t even in the ballpark, They said they’d stick to their formula, and they did.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 6, 2021
Correa is coming off a 2021 season in which he had a .279/.366/.485 slash line at the plate for the AL champions. He’s also an elite defender at shortstop, ranking first among MLB players — tied with Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings — at all positions with 21 defensive runs saved in 2021 (and was seven DRS ahead of any other shortstop).
He’s a terrific hitter, a terrific defender at a premium position, and he’s still young at 27. Free agents like this don’t come around very often.
Even with a loaded shortstop class that also features Corey Seager, Trevor Story, Javier Báez, and Marcus Semien, Correa is valuable enough to the point where those players shouldn’t impact much about his cost.
It’s likely that Correa gets a contract closer to the 10-year, $341 million deal Francisco Lindor signed with the New York Mets than the offer the Astros made.