Carlos Correa, the Cubs, and the MLB lockout

I’m playing catch-up a bit with part of this story, as some of it happened last week. But I still wanted to acknowledge the possibility, however small, that Carlos Correa could become a Cub after the lockout is over:

For his part, new Cub Marcus Stroman is trying to recruit Correa:

Of course, no signings can happen now and nothing will until the lockout is over, and I don’t think that’s happening any time soon.

The first thing you might ask is: If the Cubs are willing to sign Carlos Correa, why didn’t they just keep Javy Báez?

That’s a reasonable question, but in reality, Correa is a better player than Javy, much as we all love the former Cubs shortstop. Could Correa be signed to a deal like the one Stroman got? Two years and and opt-out (which essentially equates to a player option)? That might work, then Correa gets to hit free agency again at age 29 or 30.

Which leads to the other question about signing Correa. He’d require draft pick compensation, as he received a qualifying offer, and the Cubs don’t seem willing to do that, even though their first-round 2022 pick is protected.

Or... would he? The next CBA might not include draft pick compensation. It’s an open question whether free agents who received qualifying offers under the old CBA and who are currently unsigned, would still be subject to that sort of compensation under a new CBA. It’s something owners and players are going to have to deal with, among all the other things that must be negotiated.

I think the Cubs signing Correa is a longshot. But... if they do want to make a splash and add him to a team now with Stroman and try to contend in 2022, such a signing would certainly accomplish that.

Now I want to ask you about the lockout itself. I’m struggling to find baseball news as there are no negotiations scheduled and (obviously) no MLB transactions can happen while the lockout is ongoing. (That hasn’t stopped some teams — the Braves, for example — from selling tickets to 2022 games.)

When do you think the lockout will end?

Personally, I am hopeful they’ll come to some sort of a deal by early February so that spring training and the 2022 season will begin on time. But from where we sit in early December with no news, maybe that’s a pipedream.

Let us know what you think.