Carlos Correa rumors: A dark horse team just revealed itself

Mike Elias’ comments have thrusted the Baltimore Orioles into the Carlos Correa sweepstakes.

With the Baltimore Orioles being way better than expected, general manager Mike Elias has made it abundantly clear his team will be buyers this winter, possibly entering the Carlos Correa foray should he opt out of his Minnesota Twins deal.

The Orioles’ long and most painful rebuilding process may be coming to an end. They no longer reside in the cellar of the AL East standings. With key players like Adley Rutschman having success at the big-league level, it makes sense for Elias to be empowered to be aggressive by ownership this upcoming offseason. They do have a need to upgrade at shortstop one way or another…

"“Our plan for this offseason has always been to significantly escalate the payroll, a lot of that’s going to come through our own guys going into arbitration but also we plan to explore free agency much more aggressively,” said Elias on the front office’s plans to MASN’s Melanie Newman."

The team being better than anticipated has solidified the front office’s plans to go for it.

Carlos Correa rumors: Count the Baltimore Orioles in as a potential bidder

Correa left the Houston Astros after losing the 2021 World Series to the Atlanta Braves in his well-documented free agency. He decided to sign a three-year deal with the Twins worth $105.3 million. The former No. 1 overall pick by Houston will make $35.1 million in base salary over the next three seasons, if he so chooses. If he plays out his Twins deal, he hits free agency at age-30.

While he has zero chance of being the Charm City’s next Cal Ripken Jr., Correa could play a huge part in Baltimore winning its first World Series title since way back in 1983. Of all the teams who have won the Commissioner’s Trophy, only the recently rechristened Cleveland Guardians have had a longer title drought in the Junior Circuit than the O’s. Frankly, it is time for that to change…

Admittedly, playing in the same AL East as the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees always makes that easier said than done. However, Chaim Bloom has gone cheapskate since taking over the Boston front office. While they have never won one, the extremely low payroll Tampa Bay Rays have won the AL pennant twice since 2008. Correa would make these Orioles even better.

They may only be a dark horse to land him, but you have to applaud the Orioles by going for it.