An unexpected day off Monday thanks to a rainy forecast meant Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa spent most of his time in the team hotel.
While he focused on relaxing and resting in preparation for Tuesday’s Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox, Correa made sure his day included eating deep-dish pizza.
“Every time I come to Chicago, I’ve got to have one,” Correa explained.
Nine years after the Astros took him with the No. 1 pick, Correa is on the verge of cashing in on a seven-year big-league career during which he has established himself as one of baseball’s best shortstops. The two-time All-Star will be a free agent in the offseason.
If fortunes had been a little different in the 2012 draft, Correa’s success might have come in a Cubs uniform. He participated in pre-draft workouts that year with each of the teams that owned the top seven picks. The Cubs held the No. 6 pick.
“I played with (Alex Rodriguez) when he was 19, and they have the same (bat) action, the same body, the power … it was impressive,” then-Cubs manager Dale Sveum said after Correa’s workout. “He told me to start working him away, and he starts throwing them into the seats in right field with a 20 mph wind (blowing in).”
Before Game 4 on Tuesday, Correa noted his pre-draft workout at Wrigley Field was “by far the best one.” He recalled the Cubs telling him if he got to the sixth pick, they would select him. The Astros made sure that never had a shot of happening. Instead, the Cubs drafted outfielder Albert Almora Jr.
“I love the city of Chicago, and I remember very well that workout,” Correa said Tuesday. “But that being said, I’m a Houston Astro. I’m very happy that it played out the way it played out and got a World Series under my belt, trying to accomplish another one, and I’m focused right now on winning this year.”
Correa, 27, should be the type of player the Cubs target in free agency. He’s a proven winner, even with the stigma surrounding the Astros’ 2017 World Series title, and the type of hitter that makes any lineup better with his on-base skills and power. His athleticism would allow him to be a plus defender if he has to move off shortstop as he ages.
The Cubs, however, do not appear inclined to commit the type of money and contract years needed to sign a top-tier player this offseason. Correa or one of the other elite free-agent shortstops — Javier Báez, Corey Seager, Trevor Story and Marcus Semien — would fill a need on a Cubs roster that lacks star power after their trade-deadline deals.
Although Cubs President Jed Hoyer has not wanted to tip his hand on the team’s offseason approach, the organization appears more likely to target shorter-term deals as it overhauls the roster in the next year or two. Hoyer has preached the need to spend intelligently. It’s difficult to envision a scenario in which the Cubs would be in play for someone who will command a deal like Correa is expected to.
“We have a lot of areas we need to improve, so we’re certainly going to be active,” Hoyer said last week, “but we need to be active in a way that we feel like we’re getting the right value for the dollars we’re spending. And we’re also making sure that we’re not hindering ourselves going forward with expenditures for right now.”
Correa evidently has enjoyed his visits to Chicago over the years, but it would be a surprise if his future destination is the North Side.
“I haven’t given it too much thought, even though I love the city here,” Correa said. “I’m focused on winning right now.”
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