Dodgers Team News

Dodgers Rumors: MLB Reporter Suggests Short Term, Big Money Deal with Carlos Correa and LA

Right at this moment, the Dodgers don’t have a starting shortstop. They have a couple guys like Chris Taylor and Gavin Lux who have been shortstops in the past and maybe could be again, but chances are, their Opening Day shortstop isn’t currently on their 40-man roster.

Trea Turner was their shortstop in 2022, but he’s a free agent and might be looking for a longer contract than they’re willing to dish out, or he might prefer to go back to the east coast. There are some options on the trade market and some other options on the free-agent market. Plenty of shortstops out there, but it’s hard to guess which one will be wearing Dodger blue come spring.



One of those free agents is Carlos Correa, one of the most hated men in Los Angeles. Correa, of course, was a key part of the Astros team that cheated to beat the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. Not only that, he’s been outspokenly belligerent and unrepentant about the cheating, paying lip service to “yeah, it was wrong” but pouring his heart and soul into his vitriolic response to the cheaters’ critics.

Well, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic thinks there could be a path to Correa becoming a Dodger.

Dodgers officials often have expressed concern their fans would not accept the addition of shortstop Carlos Correa, who is a free agent for the second straight year. …

Well, now things get interesting.

Correa, 28, not only is the youngest of the four big free-agent shortstops, but also should appeal to the Dodgers because the Astros extended a qualifying offer to him last season, making him ineligible to receive one a second time.

Thus, the Dodgers could sign Correa without losing draft picks and international bonus pool money ….

Correa probably will seek a longer contract than the Dodgers are willing to offer, but what if he would take the kind of short-term, high-dollar deal teams fancy to mitigate their risk? The guess here is that Dodgers fans might feel uncomfortable at first, but ultimately would welcome Correa as long as he performed at a high level.

Fans want to win. Even if it means embracing a player they previously despised.

The Dodgers are fans of the short-term, high-dollar contract idea. Their actions suggest they’re much more concerned about roster flexibility than financial expenditures. They reportedly offered the highest average-annual value (AAV) contract to Bryce Harper after 2018, and Trevor Bauer took that kind of deal from L.A. two years ago.

Bauer’s contract didn’t work out, of course, but that wasn’t for baseball reasons, and while Correa is hated by Dodger fans, there’s little reason to suspect he’ll end up in a Bauer situation. The reason Correa is a free agent again is because he didn’t find the long, lucrative deal he was looking for last year. If he finds the market similarly uncooperative this year, he might just go for L.A.’s approach.

Rosenthal is probably right that Los Angeles fans would be okay with Correa as long as he played well. Some might never get to the “welcome” and “embrace” stage, and his jerseys sales would probably be propped up by counterculture social media rebels, at least at first. But we all “root for laundry,” as Jerry Seinfeld famously said, and if the laundry is being worn by a guy we used to hate, we’ll keep rooting for it as long as he plays well.

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Jeff Snider

Jeff was born into a Dodgers family in Southern California and is now raising a Dodgers family of his own in Utah. During his previous career as an executive at a technology company, he began writing about baseball in his spare time. After leaving corporate America in 2014, he started doing it professionally. Jeff wrote and edited for Baseball Essential for years before joining Dodgers Nation. He's also the co-host of the Locked On Dodgers podcast, a daily podcast that brings the smart fan's perspective on our Boys in Blue. Jeff has a degree in English from Brigham Young University. Favorite Player: Clayton Kershaw Favorite Moment: Kirk Gibson's homer will always have a place, but Kershaw's homer on Opening Day 2013 might be the winner.

32 Comments

  1. Sign Correa, his bat behind Freeman would be feared by pitching staffs. Will Smith can go back too 6 or 7 in lineup. Which is better for him less pressure. If God can forgive so can we. Can u imagine if he helps the dodgers beat the Astros in the World Series next year. That’s Hollywood

    1. Everybody settle down! Correa and Judge will sign in SF. The two headed monster in the West must become three. Just sign Trea for crissakes.

  2. Stop talking about Carlos Correa fans are not going to support that decision. It’s not a good decision for the clubhouse or team chemistry either. Ya got 4 other options out there.

  3. If he and Boras go short term high aav it will have end of year opt outs like his current contract with the Twins. He will shop himself every year, and make more each year. Xander is also a Boras client.

  4. Dodger fans appear to somewhat disrespect Correa — yeah, sarcasm. Look at it from Correa’s perspective. Why would he subject himself to the Dodger fan’s (well deserved) wrath? He’s going to get a huge payday anyway.

  5. Think with your logical brains Dodger fans. Correa hits as well as Turner, and plays better shortstop. Without Turner the Dodgers will get blasted by the Padres again. 300 hitting Subtraction to the a already limp hitting team will mean no playoff hopes.

    1. So are 2 other options out there besides Correa. He’s not gonna be a Dodger, and if he is there gonna loose a lot of fan base. Logic would tell you it’s a horrible clubhouse option, and horrible for team chemistry!!

  6. Think about this we haven’t won a WS because of a few factors. It’s not players!! First of what have we dealt with the last two years in the postseason? Injuries to our pitching starting pitching staff. By far one of the major factors in moving forward!! 2nd is BP. One of the hardest things to predict and spend money on in baseball!! More thinking needs to go into that. You have to have lights out BP. Last but not least is hitting philosophy and situational hitting in the postseason. Why did the Dodgers not spend money on skippers like Baker, Maddon, or Bochy. Very simple because those guys want more decision making opportunities. The guys upstairs are the ones that crunch those numbers not Roberts. The postseason is completely different than the regular season. Far less analytics are needed in the postseason and the hitting philosophy needs to change from the top. You cannot rely on hitting the ball out of the ballpark at every at bat, and sacrificing at bats, and strike outs for HR’s, and leaving runners stranded on base. Scoring runs and winning is the most important thing not Homer’s. Hot or not doesn’t matter. It’s a different game in the postseason. The philosophy, and hitting approach needs to change situationally. More thought needs to go into BP, and more depth needs to be added to SP, the cheating POS Correa, is not the answer to that, and fans are not going to support that decision!!!

  7. DO NOT even consider this deal for Correa. What are you thinking. Let him go somewhere else. If we pick him up we are losers.

  8. If you want to hate on someone, save it for Boras and Manfred. Of all the shortstops available to us thru F/A and trades, Correa seems to be the guy who offers the best offense/defense/strikeout mix. He won’t cost us prospects, draft choices or international signing $. He’s touted as a good teammate. Assuming he’s not corrosive in our clubhouse and willing to take that shorter contract/high annual value deal we should roll the dice. BUT, he’s a Boras client so don’t hold your breath! This discussion could very well be academic.

    We seem to be well on our way to building a MLB roster that is high in strikeouts; need to keep a big time eye on that and postseason contact ability! Our postseason strikeout rate was alarming; the Phillies postseason strikeout rate was alarming. Just sayin’

  9. Why do we need to sign a cheater to the Dodgers. I can’t imagine ever accepting him.

  10. The insanity continues !! STOP already !! As can be seen from most previous commenters, you will alienate a large portion of the Dodger fan base. We don’t need bad attitude to fester in the clubhouse and on the field. Swanson a good choice if Trea goes. And Lux could do the job well.

  11. Lux was hitting 300 until he got injured and the Roberts screwed around with his playing time when he came back. Vargas@ 3rd, Lux ss, bring Bush up for 2nd and Freeman @ 1st. Outman LF, Betts CF and Judge RF. Go Dodgers.

  12. Character matters. Correa may be a much-needed sparkplug in the dugout, but if he’s got a chip on his shoulder, like Tatis, he could drag the team down. His arrogance about 2017 doesn’t bode well.

  13. The Dodgers already have Betts from another cheating organization. Enough stuff has come out that cheating was widespread and has been forever. Correa would be an asset.

  14. There was never enough circumstantial evidence against Boston to form a case!! Yes everyone steals signs!!! However it is illegal to use electronic devices to steal signs period!!! And no people have not forgotten about it even people other fans of other teams, players, people that work in the MLB, analysts, and commentators. No has forgotten…lol, and fans do not Correa the POS cheater on our. Logic would tell you it’s bad for the clubhouse, and team chemistry. F- Carlos Correa ya got 3 other options out there. Guy can pound sand!!

    1. Manfred investigated one team. If all the teams were investigated there would be a lot of teams in trouble. Much easier P.R. wise to put it on one team. A bunch of players and baseball insiders have come out and said cheating was widespread.

  15. bring carlitos correa to the dodgers! his proven in the playoffs and he is the better short stop than trea turner. he’s got balls and attitude, that’s what the dodgers need in the club house. stop being a bunch of weenie’s…

  16. Respect from the clubhouse, and team chemistry carries more weight and value than an individual player’s stats. There are plenty of options out there and wiggle room on our roster to still create a great

  17. Boston was investigated too as I had mentioned!! It doesn’t matter if it’s widespread you got caught cheating and it was proven period!! Stealing signs is widespread. Electronics is a different story all together. Everyone in baseball knows what the Astros did, and people have not forgotten that and no one will. The list is long and distinguished. Fans of other teams, players, MLB analysts, commentators. How many teams in college football cheated Before the NIL came into effect…lol What matters is if you got caught!!! F___ Carlos Correa it’s a horrible decision for the clubhouse and team chemistry. There are plenty of other ways and options out there to improve this team than to sign that POS!!

    1. All the teams had the same exact electronic setup back then. Do you really think only one team took advantage of it? MLB chose not to thoroughly investigate every team. Not good for the sport. Besides, it doesn’t work if you are changing signs. The scandal was nonsense.

  18. Survey says…wrong!!! There was not an investigation for no good reason that proved that!! Also you got caught period!! And of course they didn’t investigate every team it’s called money!! And it’s not nonsense you cheated period and got caught everyone in the entire baseball community knows it!! There a million other options here than signing that POS that’s why we have one of the best farm systems in baseball. BTW where do you think Jeremy Peña came from???? Guy was not even the top SS prospect in 2021. We have the ability to bring up like 5 guys that are top level prospects, and or trade for other pieces. We have 3 current players that you could trade add prospects too for a trade and fill those positions. Muncy could be a possibility, Bellinger, could be a possibility, Lux could be a possibility. That’s why you have a farm system!! Same reason that POS is not in the A__trols anymore!!

  19. Correa happens to be a quality person who does a lot for the community. MLB is full of players that cheat in some form. That’s how it’s always been. Never bothered me. You still have to play all facets of the game. We will see if the Dodgers go that route. BTW, I saw Peña in the minors. He stood out athletically.

  20. Short or long term Correa will be the same amount as Trea. Correa missed a lot more time, and wasn’t worth what he wanted for the Astros. Who knows him better? He signed a 3 year deal with Minnesota and opted out after the first year. He will want the same option with a LA short term contract.

  21. There’s guys that stand out athletically on our farm system!! That’s what it’s there for. To bring guys up. To make trades. Free up money for Free Agents. I don’t care what Carlos Correa does for the community lots of players do things for the community. Doesn’t change my mind in signing him!!

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