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Carlos Correa seems resigned to what now seems inevitable.
Houston’s Astro since the age of 17, his time with the team is likely nearing its expiration date – likely to end when the club go into the playoffs.
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“This is my house,” he said. “But that’s not up to me.”
Correa becomes a free agent after the season and the Astros don’t seem willing to pay him what another team will surely do. The teams negotiated unsuccessfully during the offseason, and the star shortstop cut off discussions early in the season so they wouldn’t be a distraction.
He certainly hasn’t looked preoccupied on the court this year, hitting a career high of 26 home runs and leading all position players with an overall WAR of 7.2 and a defensive WAR of 2.9. But as the AL West champion Astros prepare to face the Chicago White Sox in their best-of-five divisional series starting Thursday, the possibility that these will be Correa’s last games with the team. looms.
“I just hope there is a way to retain and recruit Carlos because he is a big part of this team, not only on the pitch but one of the real leaders,” said the manager Dusty Baker.
CEO James Click hijacked talks about Correa’s future on Tuesday.
“Right now we’re focused on the playoffs,” he said. “We’ll get to the rest when we can.”
With his future in limbo, Correa reflected on what this team meant to him as he went from boy to man. He thought back to the day in 2012 when the Astros drafted him first overall. And the overwhelming feelings that enveloped him the moment he set foot in Minute Maid Park shortly thereafter.
“I just felt like it was still a dream and I couldn’t wait to be here, to play full time,” he said.
Correa knew what was expected of him from day one and rose to the challenge of helping turn around a franchise that lost 107 games in the year he was drafted.
“When they take you with the first overall pick, I feel like all the pressure should be on you to improve this organization,” he said. “During my time here I succeeded and did good things for this organization. Winning a championship was up there with that, but also representing this team in the right way off the pitch, it made me feel makes you proud. “
Perhaps the only person close to Correa who is optimistic about his presence next year is his good friend Jose Altuve. The second baseman constantly tells his buddy that they’ll find a way to keep him dressed in orange and navy blue.
“But he doesn’t write checks, he doesn’t negotiate contracts,” Correa said.
Then her face lights up as another thought comes to her mind.
“But he has power in this organization, so we’ll see what happens,” Correa said.
The Astros aren’t used to spending a lot on free agents. The biggest owner Jim Crane ever paid to a free agent was a four-year, $ 52 million contract with outfielder Josh Reddick in 2017.
That number wouldn’t even scratch the surface of what Correa expects to be paid. He says his friend and colleague shortstop Francisco Lindor established the market for the position when he secured a 10-year, $ 341 million contract with the New York Mets ahead of this season.
When asked if this is the type of deal he is looking for, Correa does not respond directly. Instead, he notes that his career WAR (34.1) is higher than Lindor’s (31.1) and that he has had around 800 fewer batting appearances.
“So that should tell you a lot,” he said.
Correa won AL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and quickly became a face of the franchise as the Astros returned to respectability. He starred as they won their first World Series in 2017 and was quick to atone for the team’s misdeeds when his sign-stealing scandal was uncovered.
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He has been exactly what the club needed at all times, doing everything possible to deliver on the promise the Astros saw in him all those years ago.
He wants to stay, but insists he’s not hurt that the Astros haven’t already made sure he will.
“They need to do what they need to do to help this organization continue in the right direction,” he said. “We’ve built something special here, so I’d love to be a part of it for years to come. But I understand how the business works, so there will never be any hard feelings.”
So this week, instead of worrying about the future, Correa will relish what could be his last playoff run in the city he has grown to love. The 27-year-old, who Baker calls “Big Game Carlos,” thrives as the scene grows this time of year.
“We live to play baseball,” he said. “The sense of urgency that if you don’t win games, you come home lights a fire in our clubhouse. We want to show up and show off… so I can’t wait.”
And if this is his last race with the Astros, nothing would make Correa happier than winning a second title out of town.
“It would be the perfect farewell gift,” he said.
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