The Houston Astros lost Game 6 of the World Series to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, spelling the end of their season. With it, the Astros may have witnessed the end of shortstop Carlos Correa’s career in Houston.
“It’s the only thing that was going through my mind, to be honest,” Correa said after the game about the possibility that he was wearing an Astros uniform for the last time. Here’s video of some of his post-game comments:
Correa, 27 years old, is expected to enter the offseason as the market’s top available free agent. He hit .279/.366/.485 (131 OPS+) with 26 home runs and 92 runs batted in. According to Baseball Reference’s calculations, he was worth 7.2 Wins Above Replacement. (Correa is ranked No. 1 in CBS Sports’ top 50 free-agent list.)
Correa said during his post-game press conference that the Astros had respected his desire to not negotiate during the season. He added: “They have our number if there is interest” in now discussing a long-term extension.
The two sides had unproductive talks back in spring that led Correa to declare the Astros “didn’t get close” with an offer worth $125 million. Whether or not the Astros would be willing to reconsider now, following a season that almost certainly raised Correa’s asking price from its original point, is anyone’s guess. It stands to reason that Correa likely has his eyes on a contract that’s closer to the $341 million extension New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor signed in the springtime.
Correa originally joined the Astros by virtue of being the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft. He’s since appeared in 725 games for the franchise, accumulating some 133 home runs and 34 Wins Above Replacement.
Correa isn’t the only member of the Astros who could be on the way out: the contracts of manager Dusty Baker and starters Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke are all set to expire now that the season is over.
