Carlos Correa is one of the most coveted free agents on the market after years of productive play with the Houston Astros.
He hit .279/.366/.485 with 26 home runs and also won the Gold Glove award, which pretty much says everything you need to know about Correa’s worth as a player.
Lots of teams are behind his signature, but these two could be surprising players.
2. Philadelphia Phillies
The Detroit Tigers are considered among the favorites to land Correa, and they have a lot of money to spend.
The New York Yankees are also in the mix, as they have publicly stated that they need a shortstop for the 2022 campaign.
However, one potential suitor not currently considered among the favorites are the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phillies are, in fact, in an uncomfortable situation.
They will be paying Didi Gregorius $14.5 million in 2022, and they are looking to replace him.
The Phillies front office has already said he isn’t guaranteed a starting spot.
To be fair, he was extremely bad in 2021, with a .209/.270/.370 line and a 68 wRC+.
The wRC+ stat, which means weighted Runs Created Plus, takes all relevant offensive contributions and combines them in one all-inclusive metric that tells us if a player is above or below-average offensively.
The “average” wRC+ is 100, so Gregorius was notoriously below-average.
He was also very bad defensively, with -17 Outs Above Average (OAA) and -11 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).
That’s why the Phillies have been connected with some of the best shortstops on the market.
Generally speaking, Correa’s name hasn’t been associated with Philadelphia very often, but he remains a possibility.
Only other team I’m worried about in the FA market getting Correa is the Phillies, I know Dave Dombrowski love to make a big splash when it’s needed. Think the Yankees have 0 shot in signing him still.
— Tigers Torkmoil (@bythewaybro) November 15, 2021
1. Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners were very, very close to making the postseason in 2021.
They got to the final weekend of the season with concrete chances, but couldn’t achieve their goal.
They are extremely close to being contenders for years to come, on the strength of a strong, top-heavy farm system with three or four potentially game-changing prospects.
However, they need to make a splash during the offseason, and that means signing elite players.
Again, Correa has some specific suitors, and the Mariners have a Gold Glove-caliber shortstop in J.P. Crawford.
Additionally, the Mariners have said they don’t want to move Crawford from shortstop, making a deal for a high-profile free agent at that position unlikely, to say the least.
But let’s not forget that Seattle has a huge hole at third base, because Kyle Seager is now a free agent.
Seattle should really consider moving Crawford to third and adding Correa at shortstop: after all, the latter is an impactful player at every facet of the game.
They could also have Abraham Toro play third and Crawford second.
Kris Bryant makes more sense from a positional standpoint, but what happens if Seattle misses out on him?
Are they going to avoid Correa even if they have the money just because he plays a position currently taken on the roster?
Word is the Seattle Mariners, in contention until the very end last year when they beat all expectations but without a playoff berth since 2001, are expected to be big spenders this winter.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 8, 2021
Crawford’s defense is very strong, but so is Correa’s.
Crawford hit .273/.338/.376 in 2021, with just nine homers in 160 games.
Correa makes sense for Seattle, too.
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