James Harden quit on the Rockets.
George Springer chose Canada (and $150 million) over Houston.
Deshaun Watson reportedly doesn't want to play for the Texans anymore and is done with the Kirby Drive culture.
Carlos Correa ... wants to stay?
Just like Michael Brantley?
OMG.
Well, what are you waiting on, Astros?
Run the numbers. Crunch the stats. Draw up a new contract and put ink to paper.
Give the No. 1 overall pick of the 2012 MLB draft the life-changing extension that he wants. Keep Captain Correa in orange and blue for years to come.
Easy, right?
It always is when you're freely spending a billionaire's money.
And when talking doesn't exactly mean doing.
"It’s something that Carlos has expressed to me personally," Astros general manager James Click said Monday, discussing Correa's desire to continue his career with the franchise that drafted and developed him.
Click also said this: "We’re obviously very open to it.”
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How much does the 26-year-old Correa want and for how long? How much are the big-city, mid-market Astros willing to give? Cut the chatter, find the soft middle and voilà.
Magic. Done.
Three-fourths of the Astros' Core Four doesn't leave.
Easy, right?
It hasn't always been for the supremely talented, super driven Correa. And so much has happened — to the Astros and Houston sports — since No. 1 said this in St. Petersburg, Fla., as the 2019 Astros were opening their season against Click's Tampa Bay Rays.
“Fans always will remember what happened last,” Correa said that March. “It doesn’t matter that I was one of the best shortstops in the league for the first three years. My last year was bad, so that’s what fans are going to remember, what you did last for the team.
“I’m ready this year to bring the quality of baseball that I bring … and everything changes. So what they’ll remember last is what happens this year.”
That was before Correa only played in 75 of 162 games.
Before the Astros gave up Game 7 of the 2019 World Series in their ballpark.
Before a surreal offseason was shattered by MLB commissioner Rob Manfred.
Before A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow were replaced by Dusty Baker and Click.
And before Correa kept standing up for his Astros, becoming a local fan favorite again, while also embracing his new role as an MLB villain.
"I’m just (expletive) proud of this team," said Correa, after the 2020 Astros came one win away from returning to the World Series for the third time in four years. "It’s been an unbelievable ride. I’ve never had more fun playing baseball than I did this year with this group of guys.”
Correa is a .276 career hitter with 107 home runs, 397 RBI, 334 runs, 128 doubles and an .833 OPS in six seasons.
His defense is often brilliant and is still underrated.
His postseason numbers are where the real money is at: .270 batting average, 17 homers, 50 RBI, .869 OPS in 63 playoff games.
And there's no asterisk attached to this sentence: Correa hit a smoking .362 in the 2020 playoffs, cranking six longballs and driving in 17 runs with a scorching 1.221 OPS in 13 games.
Correa has dealt with and overcome frustrating injuries. He's gone from the Astros' best hope in 2015 to a non-fan favorite in 2018 and '19, and to the Astros' personal champion in 2020.
It's also worth remembering that for all the talk about Correa since 2012, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year is currently sitting at just one All-Star selection and the highest Correa has finished in AL MVP voting is 17th in 2017.
He doesn't need Mike Trout, Bryce Harper or Manny Machado money.
He's also not on the verge of signing a six-year, $150 million deal to play for the Toronto Blue Jays.
If the Astros want to keep Correa, this is the time. He's set to become a free agent after the 2021 season. Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel and Brantley are the only big-name Astros locked up in 2022.
Dallas Keuchel eventually left. Gerrit Cole and Springer departed Houston for huge paydays and the Astros weren't financially competitive. Brantley was just re-signed to a smart and relatively affordable two-year, $32 million deal. Justin Verlander, Altuve and Bregman already received their big extensions.
A Houston sports star wants to stay in Houston.
One of the Astros' best players keeps saying he wants to keep playing for the Astros.
Easy money, right?
We'll see.
The Link LonkJanuary 26, 2021 at 11:33PM
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/brian-t-smith/article/Smith-Will-Carlos-Correa-contract-extension-be-15898942.php
Smith: Will Carlos Correa's contract extension be this easy for Astros? - Houston Chronicle
https://news.google.com/search?q=easy&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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