WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Houston Stars shortstop Carlos Correa said he turned down an offer for a six-year, $ 120 million contract from 2022-27 and you don’t know if there will be a deal before the opening day deadline this week next.
Correa has a salary of $ 11.3 million this year and can become a free agent after the World Series.
“How things are, I don’t know now,” Correa said Thursday. “The first offer I thought was very low, and if that’s what they feel for me and that’s where we are, then I guess I’ll go out and play and try to win another championship for the city of Houston and then explore the free agency, “he added.
Correa said the long-term offer from the Stars was made several weeks ago.
“There was no conversation after that,” he explained. “We haven’t talked about a possible extension since then, so I’m preparing as if I’m a free agent this year.”
Houston opens the season next Thursday in Oakland, and Correa has ruled out talks since then.
“Once the season starts and I start playing, I’m playing my last season before I become a free agent,” he said. “For me it makes no sense to struggle when I’m trying to concentrate and play and help my team win games, so absolutely not,” he noted.
Correa, now 26, was selected by the Stars with the first overall selection in the draft in 2012, a year in which the Stars had their second of three consecutive seasons with more than 100 losses. He debuted in 2015 and was named Rookie of the Year in the American League. Correa was an All-Star in 2017, when he helped the Stars in their first World Series title.
Correa hit 264 with five homers and 25 RBIs in last year’s season shortened by the pandemic and has a lifetime average of 276 with 107 RBIs and 397 RBIs.
“I understand the business and I know how it goes, so there are never any emotions involved,” he nuanced. “I’ve given five, six years of my career to this organization, the Rookie of the Year, the All-Star Games, the World Series, multiple big performances in the playoffs, and if they don’t see me here in the long run, then another team will do it. So, yes, there are never resentments. It’s a business. That’s how it works, “he said.