I Know He's Had His Struggles, But The Tigers Still Should've Signed Carlos Correa After The 2021 Season

Every few days, whenever I tweet about how terrible Javier Báez has been for the Tigers, people often tell me that Carlos Correa has been a disaster for the Twins and that the Tigers lucked out not signing him. I think that’s horseshit. I disagree with that take and will use this blog to explain why. 

First, I will forever resent Chris Ilitch and Al Avila for going all out for Correa following the 2021 season. And while A.J. Hinch will never admit to this, he wanted him to. In the heart of the 2021 offseason, A.J. and Carlos Correa had breakfast together. It was plastered all over Twitter, and A.J. insisted it was just him giving Carlos Correa a baby gift. I don’t believe that was the sole purpose of the meeting. It was a pitch to get him to come to Detroit, where he should’ve ended up. In typical Chris Ilitch fashion, they cheeped out and signed Javier Báez, whose most significant contribution to the Tigers in two years has been a bunt he laid down in the seventh inning yesterday.

I understand that Carlos Correa is having the worst year of his career. Last offseason was one of the bizarre free agent fiascos we've ever seen. He signed with the Giants, then with the Mets, then he ended up back with the Twins, largely because there were many concerns about his ankle. Keep in mind Carlos Correa is still 28 years old. 

Last season he had a war of 5.5, which is still elite. And while he may not be healthy right now, can you guarantee he would've had an ankle issue had he signed in Detroit? When did this flare up? I believe in the butterfly effect when it comes to this stuff. Who knows how he'd be feeling if he played at Comerica? He looked pretty damn good last year. 

Time will tell if Correa's underwhelming campaign in 2023 becomes a trend, but we've seen him have down years before, and he's always bounced back. He's a great leader in the clubhouse, he's still an elite defender, and while a .700 OPS is well below standard for a player of his caliber, it beats the hell out of the .590 OPS that Javy Baez has put up since he became a Tiger. 

The number one thing that people say to me when they try to criticize me for wanting Correa is, "Yeah, well, he's earning 100 million more than Javy is." OK, tough titty. It isn't my money. Since when have any of us cared about Chris Ilitch's bank account? 

I'm also aware there were other free-agent shortstops, and any of them would've been better than Javy Baez. They didn't make a run at anybody else. They never called Corey Seager. They gave Correa a half-assed offer, and he said, "No." It could've been the feel-good story of that off-season. I had Astros fans in my mentions telling me they were rooting for Correa to Detroit. Would I have complained if Correa had put up the numbers he's put up this year with Minnesota? I would've been disappointed by the player's performance, but I wouldn't have knocked the contract. Most big contracts don't work out. You rarely get a Randy Johnson to the Diamondbacks or Max Scherzer to the Nationals deal where a guy remains in his prime throughout the contract. 

Correa has struggled a lot this year, but it isn't a trend. Maybe I like the guy too much, but I think he will be all right. And to rub salt into the wound, he mashes a Comerica Park. That should be his home park. I'm still upset about it.