One of the top free agent hitters left on the market has reportedly been in contact with the Boston Red Sox, but it sounds like he's had plenty of other suitors as well.
Mark Berman of KRIV-TV in Houston reported that five teams have been in contact with shortstop Carlos Correa, who has already been made an offer by his current team, the Astros.
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SIGN UP HERE Correa, 27, hit .279 with 26 home runs, 92 runs batted in and an .850 OPS over 148 games in 2021, when he was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and won his first Gold Glove.
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Javier Baez, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien are all off the board at shortstop, leaving Correa and Trevor Story as the top free agents left at the position. The Red Sox already have Xander Bogaerts at shortstop, of course, but he can opt out of his current deal after the 2022 season.
Baez signed with the Detroit Tigers for six years and $140 million, while the Texas Rangers made a play for both Seager (10 years, $325 million) and Semien (seven years, $175 million).
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Correa was originally drafted first overall by Houston in 2012 and was the American League Rookie of the Year in 2015. He made his first All-Star team in 2017, when the Astros won the World Series. His career numbers are right in line, if slightly better than those of Seager, who was drafted 18th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers the same year as Correa.
Which is to say, Correa is very likely looking at a payday of at least $300 million, something which feels extremely unlikely coming from the Red Sox at this juncture.
