Ranking Carlos Correa’s 6 potential suitors after Scott Boras hire

Are Houston Astros out of the running for Carlos Correa?

Given their familiarity with each other, the Astros aren’t out of the running for Correa until he signs elsewhere.

Houston’s offers to Correa haven’t been near what he’s interested in — five years and $160 million won’t do, despite the average AAV. The Astros appear most concerned about the number of years attached, and how Correa will age at the shortstop position. That is a fair concern given most shortstops, even those as talented as Correa, cannot maintain such strong fielding ability into their late 30’s.

Any decade-long contract for Correa would pay him until he’s 37 years old, at least.

Jim Crane was willing to pay Justin Verlander his worth. Perhaps he’ll wise up and do the same with Correa. Either that, or he’s planned on losing Correa all along.

Carlos Correa rumors: Could Dodgers or Cubs sign star shortstop?

And now we have the two most likely suitors for Correa at this point in the game — the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Cubs are a late riser in this group, as their interest in Correa has only been revealed in the last month. However, Chicago’s main issue is that they’d rather cap out at eight years max for Correa, rather than the decade-long contract he wants. Correa and Boras don’t seem to be willing to negotiate on such benchmarks.

If they were, then any number of teams would enter the chase, giving the Cubs little advantage over any other franchise on this list or otherwise.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, have all the assets needed to acquire Correa at his suggested asking price — namely, money. Sure, the luxury tax is a price the Dodgers would rather not donate to, but given their massive television contract and the mere wealth of ownership, it won’t be a problem.

Fit, also, remains a factor in the Dodgers’ favor. While the Cubs are in the midst of a retooling of sorts, the Dodgers came one game away from winning the NL West last year. Hell, they had 106 wins.

Los Angeles lost their shortstop in Corey Seager, and could lose another star infielder next offseason in Trea Turner. Paying Correa long-term, with the mindset that those two stars are either gone or have one foot out the door, is helpful.

The Dodgers should be favored to sign Correa for all these reasons and more, despite their hatred for all things Houston Astros.