Astros: A Carlos Correa contract that works for everyone

As Carlos Correa still sits as a free agent, will the Houston Astros be willing to pay enough to bring the talented shortstop back?

The Houston Astros are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to trying to bring Carlos Correa back. What kind of compromise could be made that would make everyone involved willing to reunite and move forward?

Well, the first thing that almost certainly has to happen is getting Houston to be willing to spend some more money.

Houston previously offered a five-year, $160 million deal towards Correa, which comes out to be a very lovely $32 million a year and lets Correa enter free agency once he’s 32, still possibly young enough to get another contract offer.

However, Correa seems to truly want a longer deal closer to $300 million a year. Nobody has really offered that to him and he just turned down a massive deal from Detroit.

So, what would it take to get him to come back to Houston?

Carlos Correa free agency: Will the Houston Astros be willing to pay Carlos Correa?

If the Astros are actually serious about wanting to bring Correa back, they are likely going to have to open up their wallet and be willing to pay him a considerable amount of money. They’ll also need to look at paying him for longer than they really want to.

For whatever reason, Houston is hesitant to pony up and pay a player a long-term deal. Unfortunately for the Astros, that’s the sort of deal that Correa seems intent on signing. Their previous offer was a five-year deal. Correa doesn’t seem all that thrilled with the idea of that and he’s turned down deals that are twice that long.

But how can they come to an agreement here?

Houston will need to get closer to that 10-year mark. It makes sense why they might be concerned about paying Correa for a decade given some of his injury history, but if he’s able to continue being consistent and doesn’t take a sharp decline, this sort of gamble would work out well.

Along with Houston being willing to pay a bit more and extend the contract a little longer, Correa needs to compromise a bit as well.

As we’ve seen so far, he’s likely not getting the sort of monumental contract from anyone in this round of free agency. Adjusting his expectations a bit may be the best move for him to have a shot at getting a good contract with a team that is a proven winner.

For this to work with Houston, a seven-year (or eight-year) deal that is somewhere in the ballpark of $30 million to $34 million a year would probably be the most appealing sort of compromise. That’s especially true if Houston can tack on the option for Correa to opt-out of the contract around five or six years in, so he could enter free agency once more if he so desires.

The best possible compromise likely sits around a seven-year, $238 million deal with an opt-out option available following the 2027 season. That gives Correa a bit more control of the situation towards the end of the deal and also is closer to the term that he wants in the deal.

This is a complex situation as both parties need to concede a bit to make a contract happen. Houston needs to evaluate how long it wants its window to win another World Series to be open. Correa should also consider how much winning another championship would mean to him and if he could make enough money in endorsements to overcome any perceived lack in his contract.