What Carlos Correa’s contract means for Dansby Swanson’s market

Dansby Swanson is the lone remaining star shortstop free agent on the market, and things are heating up as there was a lot of competition for the four.

Teams aren’t playing around this offseason when it comes to the four star shortstops on the market.

Three of the four have been taken off the market with Trea Turner signing an 11-year deal worth $300 million with the Philadelphia Phillies, Xander Bogaerts signing an 11-year deal worth $280 million with the San Diego Padres and Carlos Correa signing 13 years worth $350 million with the San Francisco Giants.

Former Atlanta Braves star Dansby Swanson is the lone remaining one of the four, and these lengthy and expensive contracts suggest that he could be bound to sign one as well.

The Atlanta Braves haven’t fought much to lock him down, and while they may end up re-signing him, their biggest competitors seem to be the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago Cubs as they’ve been heavily linked to the star shortstops this offseason.

The Twins have a lot of payroll cleared up as they lost Correa, and the Cubs do as well after losing Willson Contreras and cutting Jason Heyward.

Wherever Swanson may end up, it seems most likely that he’d be after a long-term and expensive contract seeing as Turner, Bogaerts and Correa all got one.

Dansby Swanson likely to be after a long-term, expensive contract

Not only did the other three shortstops get signed to massive deals, but Swanson had a great season —  and one of the best defensively of his career. He’s made a case of being worth nearly as much as the others, ending the season with a wFB of 16.0, wSL of 3.5, outs above average of 20 and runs above average of 15.

While he didn’t have his best season at-bat, he was still hitting well, slashing .277/.329/.447 for an OPS of .776.

The Braves certainly have a void to fill without him, and without any star shortstops left on the market, it wouldn’t be surprising if they went a little more heavily after him.

The Twins and the Cubs, however, both could use the star too and are actively looking for major improvements. The Twins were going full-force after Correa, and since they officially lost him, Swanson could be a good replacement they go after.

The Cubs have struggled to find the same success they had in 2016, and they’ve been actively trying to make moves that’ll bring them closer to that. Swanson would be a great move for them, and one that seems likely.

The market will likely be highly competitive as he’s the last one of the four left.