Carlos Correa

On the final day of the 2021 Major League Baseball regular season, most teams have already turned their attention toward the offseason and 2022.

Coming off the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, most teams spent last winter avoiding free agency, actively cutting payroll or striking bargain deals with free agents. 

Some notable star players, such as Francisco Lindor and Fernando Tatis Jr., were able to secure massive long-term extensions from their clubs. But for the most part, things were quieter than usual across the league.

That doesn't figure to be the case coming off a full 162-game season, with team owners able to tout increased revenues from having fans back in the stands.

It helps that there are going to be several All-Star players available for teams to negotiate with this year.

Here are the latest rumors involving some of the top pending free agents as the 2021 regular season wraps up.

Max Scherzer, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers

Long regarded as one of the best pitchers in MLB, Max Scherzer has the opportunity to cash in big for the second time in his career.

The three-time Cy Young winner signed a seven-year, $210 million deal with the Washington Nationals in as a free agent in January 2015.

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, Scherzer is hoping to pitch into his 40s and is "all but assured" to break the record for average annual salary in his next deal.

Scherzer is 37, though he has not shown any signs of slowing down. The eight-time All-Star has a 2.46 ERA, 0.864 WHIP and 236 strikeouts in 179.1 innings between the Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers this season.

Based on Heyman's reporting, Scherzer could be seeking a deal of at least three years this offseason.

Per Spotrac, Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees has the highest average annual salary among MLB players ($36 million). Assuming he lands a three-year deal, Scherzer's contract value would need to be worth at least $108.1 million to surpass Cole.

Even though investing in any pitcher over the age of 30 is a significant risk, Scherzer's history indicates he could be an exception to the rule. He has only posted an ERA over 3.00 once in the past seven seasons (3.74 in 2020) and has posted sub-1.00 WHIP totals in five of the previous seven years.

The Dodgers seem like a natural fit for Scherzer. They already know him well given he was acquired from the Nationals on July 30. They haven't been shy about spending money on star players, and high-end depth has been one reason for their success during this run of nine consecutive playoff appearances.

Carlos Correa, SS, Houston Astros

Carlos Correa's strong bounce-back performance in 2021 has set him up well to cash in as a free agent.

Per Heyman, the Detroit Tigers are among the teams that will be interested in the 2015 American League Rookie of the Year. Heyman also listed the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins as clubs that could have interest in Correa.

The Houston Astros, Correa's team, also have the ability to make him a lucrative offer.

Per Spotrac, the Astros only have $108.5 million in contract commitments next season. That total doesn't include pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players.

After Correa posted a disappointing .264/.326/.383 slash line with five homers and 25 RBI in 58 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Astros attempted to get him to sign a team-friendly extension.

Correa told reporters in March he turned down a six-year, $120 million offer from Houston.

"The way things are looking, I don’t know right now," he said. "The first offer, I thought it was really low, and if that’s how they feel about me and that’s where we stand, then I guess I will go out there and play and try to win another championship for the city of Houston and then explore free agency."

Among the teams said to be interested in Correa, the Tigers are the most interesting. They took significant steps forward this season with a 76-85 record following Saturday's game against the Chicago White Sox.

While that isn't good enough to put the Tigers in playoff position, some of their young pitchers had promising years that make them look dangerous going forward.

Casey Mize still isn't missing many bats (118 strikeouts in 150.1 innings), but opposing hitters have only managed 130 hits against him. Tarik Skubal has big velocity and good stuff when he's on, but he has to cut down on his home-run rate (2.1 per nine innings).

The Tigers have several promising position players on the verge of reaching the big leagues. Spencer Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 draft, hit .266/.380/.548 across three levels this season and finished in Triple-A.

Riley Greene posted a .303/.387/.537 slash line in 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2021.

The Tigers need to significantly upgrade at shortstop. Niko Goodrum has been a below-average hitter in each of the past three seasons and only put up a .660 OPS in 2021.

Adding Correa's bat (.279/.366/.481 in 2021) to the middle of a lineup that also boasts Torkelson and Greene would suddenly make the Tigers look like a credible threat to the White Sox in the AL Central.

Nick Castellanos, OF, Cincinnati Reds

Like Correa, Nick Castellanos proved this season that his down year in 2020 was a fluke rather than any indication he was on the decline.

Castellanos enters Sunday's regular-season finale hitting .308/.362/.570 with a career-high 33 homers for the Cincinnati Reds. He was named to his first All-Star team in July.

Those numbers could convince Castellanos to test free agency by turning down his $16 million player option for 2022.

One team that will be keeping an eye on Castellanos' status are the Miami Marlins.

On the Swings and Mishes podcast (starts at the 17:30 mark), Craig Mish noted that Castellanos "will be part of the discussion" in Miami's front office as it looks for ways to improve the team next season.

Mish also said later in the podcast (21:10 mark) that there is a "massive" amount of pressure on the Marlins front office to improve the team after a disappointing 2021.

Miami isn't known for spending a lot of money on its roster, though the ownership group led by Bruce Sherman and CEO Derek Jeter has been guiding the franchise for four years now.

During the Sherman-Jeter tenure, the Marlins' lone playoff appearance came in the pandemic-shortened season. Their 31-29 record led to some optimism coming into this year, but that quickly disappeared, and the team has lost at least 95 games for the third time in the past four seasons.

A lack of hitting has played a significant role in the Marlins' 2021 struggles. Only three players currently on the roster had enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, with Jesus Aguilar being the only one in that group with an above-average OPS+.

Castellanos, who has a long history of durability, would give the Marlins a much-needed power hitter in the middle of the lineup. This season was the first time since 2016 that he's missed more than 11 games.

Based on Miami's history, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the franchise shy away from pursuing a lucrative multiyear pact with Castellanos or any other player. But this would be an opportune time to do so given how impressive the Marlins rotation can be with Sandy Alcantara and Trevor Rogers leading it.

The Detroit Tigers reportedly have interest in Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, who's scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Friday the Tigers could face competition from the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, who'll all be in the market for a shortstop upgrade during the offseason.

Correa has been one of the league's most productive shortstops since making his debut with the Astros in 2015. His .835 OPS over the past seven years ranks sixth at the pivotal position, per FanGraphs.

The 27-year-old Puerto Rico native posted a career-low .709 OPS during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign, but he's bounced back with an .843 OPS and 25 home runs across 146 games in 2021. He ranks third among all hitters in WAR (7.0), according to ESPN.

He played a key role in Houston (93-66) winning the AL West division title to secure a franchise-record fifth straight postseason berth.

"That sounds pretty special," Correa told reporters Thursday night.

In early September, the two-time All-Star confirmed he didn't want any contract talks during the season and expressed interest in re-signing with the Astros once the playoffs end.

"If they want to keep me here, I'll be happy to stay here. If they don't see me here long term, I'll go play for somebody else," Correa said. "That decision is out of my hands. The only thing that's in my hands is the way I perform on the field and the way I help my team win ballgames."

He'll have plenty of potential suitors if an extension isn't signed with Houston.

The Tigers make a lot of sense on paper. Heyman mentioned the connection to Detroit manager A.J. Hinch, who served the same role with the Astros from 2015 through 2019, and the club received mediocre production from the shortstop trio of Harold Castro, Niko Goodrum and Zack Short in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Yankees thought they had their shortstop of the future in Gleyber Torres, who crushed 38 homers in 2019. His numbers have plummeted over the past two years, however, including a .701 OPS and just nine long balls in 124 games this season. New York has shifted Gio Urshela to short for the time being as it attempts to secure a wild-card berth.

The Twins will have an opening at shortstop with the defensive-minded Andrelton Simmons also set to hit the open market, while the Rangers could move the versatile Isiah Kiner-Falefa to another position if they can land Correa to provide a much-needed boost to their offense.

Other clubs would likely get involved if Correa becomes available, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Astros make one final push to re-sign him before he can hit the free-agent market.

Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said that he would be "happy to stay" in town with free agency looming next offseason.

Brian McTaggart of MLB.com provided the quotes.

“You never know, man. Obviously, I do not have a contract with the Astros for next year. Who knows? If they want to keep me here, I’ll be happy to stay here. If they don’t see me here long term, I’ll go play for somebody else. That decision is out of my hands. The only thing that’s in my hands is the way I perform on the field and the way I help my team win ballgames.”

Correa is a two-time All-Star who is in the midst of his seventh season in Houston. He won American League Rookie of the Year honors in 2015 and played an integral role in the franchise's lone World Series title, which occurred in 2017.

The 26-year-old entered Wednesday hitting .277 (.850 OPS) with 20 home runs and 69 RBI. He and the Astros avoided arbitration last offseason after the two sides agreed to a one-year, $11.7 million deal.

Correa said before the season that he turned down an offer for a six-year, $120 million contract, per the Associated Press on March 26.

"The way things are looking, I don't know right now," Correa said then.

"The first offer I thought it was really low, and if that's how they feel about me and that's where we stand, then I guess I will go out there and play and try to win another championship for the city of Houston and then explore free agency."

Correa is bound to get far more than $120 million in free agency coming off his second All-Star campaign. In fact, it's not impossible to believe that he could get north of $300 million, like fellow shortstops Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres and Francisco Lindor of the New York Mets.

"So if any of this winter's top free-agent shortstops is going to join Tatis and Lindor in the $300 Million Club, chances are it will be Correa," Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report wrote on June 10.

"He'll just need to remain healthy and productive through the end of the season, and then wait for the calls to start coming in."

Correa has remained healthy and productive with the regular season ending in one month and the Astros appearing playoff-bound once again. Ultimately, Correa appears to have made a wise decision to turn down that previous offer as he looks toward a megadeal.

The Houston Astros placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the injured list Friday under MLB's health and safety protocols.

Taylor Jones will take his place on the active roster.

Correa is one of the best shortstops in the league. The 2015 American League Rookie of the Year, 2017 World Series champion and two-time All-Star is slashing .288/.385/.510 with 16 home runs and 52 RBI this season.

He was a critical cog in the team's 2017 championship run and hit .288/.325/.562 with five home runs and 14 RBI in 18 postseason games.

Houston is again a World Series contender in part because of Correa's presence in the lineup and middle of the infield. The team is 54-34, 4.5 games ahead of the second-place Oakland Athletics in the AL West.

The Astros will likely rely on Robel Garcia at shortstop in Correa's absence.

Back in January 2020, the Houston Astros' reputation seemed damaged beyond repair when Major League Baseball lowered the boom on the organization after discovering the sign-stealing scheme that aided its 101-win season and World Series run in 2017.

Roughly a year-and-a-half later, you'd swear that said reputation hadn't suffered so much as a scratch.

The Astros are tied for the American League's best record at 48-31, but with far and away MLB's best run differential at plus-140. They've done much of this damage over their last 28 games, in which they've gone 21-7 while outscoring opponents 183 to 88.

This doesn't mean that Houston's misdeeds from four years ago are forgotten, much less forgiven. It's doubtful that any of the players and fans who wanted the team stripped of its World Series title have changed their minds, especially not after Andy Martino confirmed that its cheating scheme remained in place throughout the 2017 playoffs:

It is, however, only getting harder to maintain the belief that the Astros were successful merely because they were willing to cheat.

After all, they followed their championship-winning season in 2017 with a 103-win campaign in 2018 and then a 107-win season and another World Series run in 2019. And while the optics were bad as the Astros went just 29-31 in last year's shortened season, they ultimately came just one win shy of winning their third AL pennant in four years.

Now the Astros are dominating once again, and it isn't because general manager James Click and manager Dusty Baker are working with a drastically different roster than the one formerly constructed by Jeff Luhnow and shepherded by manager A.J. Hinch. Sans departed outfielder George Springer and injured ace Justin Verlander, the Astros of 2021 indeed look a lot like the Astros of 2017-2019.

So, it's high time to appreciate something about the Astros that was all too easy to appreciate in those years: They just really are that good.

The Astros Have a Historically Great Offense. Again.

The Astros had a lot going for them between 2017 and 2019, but there was frankly no aspect of those teams more enviable than their offenses.

Houston's offense led the majors in all three triple-slash categories (i.e., AVG, OBP and SLG) between '17 and '19, though which of those offenses was the best depends on which park- and era-adjusted stat you prefer.

To wit, OPS+ says it was the 2017 Astros that had the best offense since the Babe Ruth/Lou Gehrig New York Yankees of the late 1920s and early 1930s, while wRC+ says that honor actually belongs to the 2019 offense. Either way, pretty good company.

After a brief descent into mediocrity in 2020, the Astros offense is now back at it in 2021.

On an individual level, the Astros are once again getting strong seasons out of Kyle Tucker (123 OPS+) and the newly re-signed Michael Brantley (149). But if it's a question of how they're making up for the loss of Springer after he paced last year's offense with a 141 OPS+, it comes down to the resurgence of four key players.

After missing all but two games last year due to injuries to both knees, 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez is back and cranking away with a .297/.366/.526 line and 13 home runs. He's been especially hot lately with four home runs in Houston's last seven games.

Though third baseman Alex Bregman—who had a modest 118 OPS+ even before he injured his quad—still isn't what he was in 2019, fellow stalwart stars Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel have succeeded in turning back the clock after collectively struggling in 2020:

• 2019: .294 AVG, .350 OBP, .550 SLG
• 2020: .238 AVG, .295 OBP, .371 SLG
• 2021: .308 AVG, .388 OBP, .520 SLG

From a broader perspective, the Astros are back to laying off breaking and off-speed pitches outside the strike zone after what seemed to be a telling struggle in that department last season. They're likewise back to crushing fastballs within the strike zone, against which they're hitting a sturdy .317 with a .519 slugging percentage.

Whether or not this is all related to the return of in-game video in 2021, it amounts to a practical explanation for how the Astros boast MLB's lowest strikeout rate while also ranking in the top 10 with 103 home runs. And just like old recent times, they're once again leading MLB in average, on-base and slugging.

Because the 2021 Astros are also pacing the field with 449 runs scored with underlying metrics that put even their '17 and '19 offenses to shame, it may indeed be their current offense that's most deserving of rubbing elbows with the Ruth/Gehrig Yankees.

And How About That Starting Pitching?

Even if the Astros offense is mostly responsible for the team's overall success, not to be overlooked is a starting rotation that ranks second in the American League with a 3.29 ERA.

This, of course, is no longer the province of Verlander or fellow fireballer Gerrit Cole, who parlayed two brilliant seasons with Houston into a $324 million contract with the Yankees after the 2019 season. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the average fastball velocity of Astros starters, which has gone from 94.0 mph in 2019 to 92.1 mph in 2020 to 92.0 in 2021.

And yet fastballs are actually a huge part of the success that Houston's rotation has had this season. By run value, only four teams' starters have been more effective with fastballs.

That in and of itself is solid evidence that Zack Greinke, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Urquidy, Jake Odorizzi and Framber Valdez—none of whom has an ERA+ under 100—are simply good at pitching. But since it's there to be pointed out, it should be pointed out that they're good at pitching in a very specific way.

Namely, they stay away from batters regardless of whether a right-handed hitter or a left-handed hitter is at the plate:

• Plate X vs. RHB: 0.29 (4th in MLB)
• Plate X vs. LHB: -0.31 (2nd in MLB)

Because today's standard hitter is looking to generate power by pulling the ball in the air, this approach makes sense in theory. It's also hard to argue with in practice. Astros starters are holding righty batters to a .190 average against pitches on and beyond the outer third of the strike zone. Similarly, they're holding lefty batters to a .168 average on such offerings.

Is there nonetheless room for suspicion that Astros starters will maintain such a low ERA even though they're only 10th among their AL peers in strikeouts per nine innings? Well, sure.

Yet the other impossible-to-ignore element to this equation is that Houston's defense is very, very good. It's leading MLB with 27 outs above average, and its infielders are often in the right place at the right time. When in either a strategic or shifted position, Houston's infield has permitted just a .203 average on ground balls.

Even the Astros' One Flaw Is Coming Around

Through the first few weeks of the regular season, Houston's most noticeable problem was its lack of dependable relief pitching. Even as recently as May 29, Astros relievers had a pedestrian 3.94 ERA and a win probability added in the red.

But ever since the team started its hot streak on May 30, this storyline has evaporated as Houston's pen has put up a 3.24 ERA and moved into the black for WPA.

Nobody is driving this effort harder than ace closer Ryan Pressly, whose last nine appearances have yielded no runs on four hits, one walk and 15 strikeouts. Blake Taylor, Brooks Raley and Ryne Stanek have also been pitching well, while Cristian Javier has settled into a niche as a multi-inning weapon, logging a 2.70 ERA over 16.2 innings over six appearances dating back to May 28.

All told, it takes a microscope to find faults with the Astros right now. They really are playing that well, and the general shape of the American League playoff picture has shifted accordingly.

Per FanGraphs, the Astros opened the season with a 55.9 percent chance of winning the AL West and a 15.8 percent chance of making it to the World Series. Those figures are now at 80.7 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively.

If for no other reason than that they simply had the gall to go through with it, what the Astros did in 2017 still places as one of the most egregious scandals in MLB history. But even if that ensures they'll never be able to play their way into everyone's good graces, by now they ought to have played their way back into everyone's respect.  

Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.

Houston Astros star Carlos Correa and his wife, Daniella Rodriguez, announced they are expecting their first child in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

Showing off ultrasound results of their newest family member, the shortstop commented that baby Correa is on the way. 

The 26-year-old from Puerto Rico is no stranger to sharing big moments in his relationship with MLB's audience. After winning the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, Correa ran over to Rodriguez on the field and proposed to her live on TV. 

It's unclear whether or not their child will be cheering for the Astros in the future. Correa is slated to become a free agent after this season and could command one of the biggest contracts handed out this winter.

Spotrac projects the shortstop's market value is $23.8 million per season, which would make him the third-highest paid player at his position.