The Los Angeles Dodgers are still in the opening stages of free agency with holes at key spots on their roster, mainly shortstop, and they have been linked to Carlos Correa as a potential replacement for Trea Turner.
With many suitors for premier infielders who are guaranteed to receive mega-contracts, there are doubts that the Dodgers will be able to sign Correa this offseason.
Correa would fill a huge need for the Dodgers with Turner possibly leaving via free agency, and although they still have a shot to bring him back, the belief is he won’t call Dodger Stadium his home ballpark when 2023 kicks off.
The loaded shortstop class of Correa, Turner, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson is perhaps the best Major League Baseball has seen in some time. The Dodgers have a hole to fill at short and have a knack for positioning themselves to bring in the top talent when it becomes available, however according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, the Dodgers aren’t likely to sign Correa:
Carlos Correa, who is arguably the best shortstop of the group, would be a long shot, according to a source.
Aside from the 2017 Houston Astros cheating scandal that made them the black sheep of MLB and saw zero player repercussions in the aftermath, Correa is an incredibly talented player. In 2022 with the Minnesota Twins he batted .291/.366/.467 with 24 doubles, 22 homers and 64 RBI in 136 games, which prompted him to opt out of his player-friendly deal and hit the open market.
Correa would have likely received a mega-deal if not for the lockout prior to the 2022 season and his agent, Scott Boras, believes the Dodgers don’t have any reservations over what happened in 2017 and would be willing to look past that to sign one of the best shortstops in MLB.
Would Dodgers fans accept Carlos Correa?
From a pure baseball standpoint, Correa is an incredible player. His seasoned bat and ability to come up in clutch spots is a dream to lock down the most important spot in the infield, but some members of the Dodgers front office reportedly don’t think he would be a fit with how the fans would react.
Many of them and players, still feel the Astros were not sufficiently punished or remorseful enough when they were found by an MLB investigation to have electronically stolen signs throughout the 2017 season. And of course, Correa was one of the leaders of that team.
Contract expectations are said to be in the eight to 10-year range with an average annual value of around $30 million.
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