Carlos Correa, Shohei Ohtani, More Fail to Sign Contracts at Arbitration Deadline
Jan 16, 2021
Baseball: ALCS Playoffs: Houston Astros Carlos Correa (1) in action, throwing vs Tampa Bay Rays at
Petco Park. Game 7. San Diego, CA 10/17/2020
CREDIT: John W. McDonough (Photo by John W. McDonough/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163419)
Major League Baseball's Friday arbitration deadline came and went with numerous star players and teams failing to reach agreements.
Of note, Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, Los Angeles Angels outfielder/pitcher Shohei Ohtani and Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Walker Buehler are headed to arbitration.
Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, the 13-player list also includes Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, San Francisco Giants infielder/outfielder Donovan Solano, Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough, Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Mike Soroka, New York Mets outfielder J.D. Davis, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, Rays first baseman Ji-Man Choi and Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes.
Passan listed the differences in agreements between teams and players:
Correa most recently dominated in the 2020 postseason, hitting .362 with six home runs, 17 RBI and a 1.221 OPS. He helped the Astros come within one win from reaching their third World Series in four years, but the Tampa Bay Rays ultimately prevailed in the American League Championship Series.
The Rays feature two players on that list in Choi and Yarbrough. Choi's defensive wizardry at first base and his dominant ALCS performance (.385 batting average, 1.145 OPS) helped Tampa Bay make its first World Series since 2008. Yarbrough started nine of his 11 regular-season outings, posting a 3.56 ERA.
Buehler is arguably the most accomplished pitcher on the list, going 14-4 with a 3.26 ERA and 215 strikeouts in 2019. He shone in the 2020 playoffs, going 2-0 with 39 strikeouts and a 1.80 ERA in 25 innings.
The 2021 MLB season is scheduled to begin April 1.
Major League Baseball's winter meetings have come and gone, and left a handful of oh-so-juicy trade rumors in their wake. We couldn't help but take a few and run with them...
The MLB rumor mill has had a busy week, and things are only getting started, with the December 6-10 winter meetings (virtual edition) right around the corner...
The 2020-21 MLB free-agent class features a handful of star-caliber players, but it's a relatively thin group and the gap between them and the rest of the available talent is a wide one...
Carlos Correa Trade Rumors: Astros Star Floated in Talks Ahead of Contract Year
Nov 24, 2020
Houston Astros' Carlos Correa celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Oakland Athletics during the fourth inning of Game 4 of a baseball American League Division Series in Los Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Astros are "floating" their All-Star shortstop in trade talks since it is "unlikely they will sign him before he reaches free agency at the end of the season."
Houston's run of success over the past four seasons came when a number of its best players were in their arbitration years.
That started to change last offseason when Gerrit Cole signed with the New York Yankees forthelargest contractfor a pitcher in Major League Baseball history.
MLB.com'sBrian McTaggart noted that George Springer, the Astros' biggest free agent this offseason, is unlikely to return because of what he can command on the market and "some upgrades (Houston will) need to make in their pitching staff."
Correa could net a significant return in a trade.Tim Dierkesof MLB Trade Rumors projects the 26-year-old will only make $10.2 million in arbitration. By comparison, Francisco Lindor, whoseems likelyto be dealt by the Cleveland Indians, is projected to get $21.5 million in his final year of arbitration.
Since both players made their MLB debuts in 2015, Correa has hit .276/.353/.480, while Lindor has hit .285/.346/.488.
Correa does have injury concerns, as he missed a total of 192 games in three seasons from 2017 to 2019. The Puerto Rican star looked fully healthy in the postseason this year, though, hitting a robust .362/.455/.766 with six homers in 13 games.
Carlos Correa Says He's 'F--king Proud' of Astros After Game 7 ALCS Loss to Rays
Oct 18, 2020
Houston Astros Carlos Correa watches the eighth inning from the dugout in Game 7 of a baseball American League Championship Series, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
The Houston Astros were baseball's public enemy No. 1 in 2020, with players and fans of opposing teams coming together all season as a 29-team conglomerate of dislike.
While the Astros came up short in their desire to silence the haters, shortstop Carlos Correa said he's proud of the effort they put together.
"I'm just f--king proud of this team, man," Correa told reporters after the Astros' ALCS loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. "It's been an unbelievable ride. I've never had more fun playing baseball than I did this year with this group of guys."
The Astros navigated a difficult 29-31 regular season to sneak into the playoffs and dominate their way through the first two rounds before coming up against a game Rays squad.
When Tampa Bay raced out to a 3-0 series lead, many thought thiswas finally the time the Astros would receive their comeuppance. But Houston battled back to win three straight games and make the baseball collective sweat it out before the Rays earned a 4-2 win in Saturday's deciding game.
"You want to go to the World Series, but at the same time, this group of guys are so special, the way we battled back from adversity," Correatold reporters. "I'm going home remembering this team forever. I'm very proud of what we accomplished.
"We did a good job on focusing what we can control, and that was showing up, playing hard and fighting to the end."
Houston faces several questions about its roster composition moving forward, with Josh Reddick, George Springer and Michael Brantley among the team's free agents. There have been rumors players are set toexit the franchise amid the scrutiny, so it will be interesting to see whether the team's playoff run brought them back together.
As it stands, it was an impressive run if it were the last hurrah for this Astros core.
MLB Playoffs 2020: Examining Latest Results, Highlights and Stats
Oct 17, 2020
Houston Astros Carlos Correa hits an RBI single during the fifth inning in Game 6 of a baseball American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The 2004 Boston Red Sox are no longer the only team to come back from a three-game deficit in the Major League Baseball postseason.
The Houston Astros joined them Friday by winning their third consecutive game over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.
Dusty Baker's team produced its highest single-game run total of the series in Game 6, as it defeated the Rays 7-4 at Petco Park.
The top of Houston's order delivered a majority of the key hits. George Springer, Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa combined to go 8-of-16 at the plate.
Those four players have been some of the most successful hitters in the entire series, as they have four of the five highest hit totals. Altuve is the only batter with 10 ALCS hits.
While Houston's bats received plenty of attention during the comeback, the Game 6 victory would not have been possible without Framber Valdez's pitching performance.
Valdez struck out nine Rays batters over six innings to bring his series total up to 17 punchouts in 12 frames.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Valdez became the second Astros pitcher to record at least nine strikeouts when facing postseason elimination. Gerrit Cole fanned 10 batters against Tampa Bay in ALCS Game 5 in 2019.
Framber Valdez is the 2nd pitcher in Astros history with at least 9 strikeouts when facing elimination from the postseason.
Tampa Bay finds itself in an unfortunate position and could join the 2004 New York Yankees as the only teams to blow three-game leads and lose the series in MLB postseason history.
The Rays have been unable to match the Astros' production at the dish, as they have not scored more than five runs in a single ALCS contest.
Randy Arozarena and Manuel Margot are responsible for 14 of the team's 38 hits and six of its nine ALCS home runs.
They are two of five Tampa Bay players with three or more hits in the series. Seven Houston players possess four or more hits.
Prior to Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers could have been criticized for not getting enough production from their top hitters.
In their 7-2 win over the Atlanta Braves, Mookie Betts went 2-of-4 and Will Smith delivered a three-run home run. The two hitters combined for four hits in the first four games.
Smith's sixth-inning home run was unique because it occurred against Atlanta reliever Will Smith. As ESPN Stats and Info noted, it was the first batter-versus-pitcher matchup in the MLB postseason to feature two players with the same name.
Will Smith comes out on top against...Will Smith for a 3-run home run, giving the Dodgers a 4-2 lead.
Smith was one of four Atlanta relievers to concede an earned run Friday. That trimmed the list of Atlanta pitchers to not allow a run down to four.
Chris Martin and Mark Melancon are two of those hurlers, and they could be called upon in relief of Max Fried in Saturday's Game 6 to avoid landing in a Game 7.
Game 6 could be a low-scoring affair if it follows the way of Game 1, where each team forced one run off Fried and Walker Buehler.
Help from the bottom third of the order was non-existent in the series opener. Atlanta had one hit from hitters No. 6 through No. 9 and Los Angeles produced two hits from batters No. 5 through No. 9.
Whichever team flips the order over better could gain the advantage. If Atlanta wins, it will focus on World Series preparation. If the Dodgers win, Game 7 will be Sunday night.
World Series 2020: Early Odds, Guide for Fall Classic
Oct 17, 2020
Houston Astros George Springer (4) and Carlos Correa celebrate after Game 6 of a baseball American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in San Diego. The Astros defeated the Rays 7-4 to tie the series 3-3. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
After 11 League Championship Series games, there are still four possible World Series matchups.
The Tampa Bay Rays or Houston Astros will advance out of the American League on Saturday following a Game 7 forced by three consecutive Houston victories. The Atlanta Braves still hold a slight advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the Fall Classic out of the National League.
However, the Braves and Rays are 0-4 in LCS games in which they could clinch the series victory.
Friday's wins by Houston and Los Angeles narrowed the gap in championship odds between the four contenders. The Astros went into ALCS Game 6 at +850 to win the title (wager $100 to win $850), and now they have smaller odds than the Dodgers to do so.
Even though Houston's odds dropped significantly after its ALCS Game 6 victory, it still carries good value to win the World Series.
Houston has all the momentum heading into Saturday's Game 7 with Tampa Bay after becoming the second team in LCS history to recover from a three-game deficit.
The Astros have some of the most experienced postseason bats of the four teams remaining and the performance of those players has been one of the reasons why they fended off elimination for three straight days.
Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, George Springer and Carlos Correa combined for 31 of Houston's 52 ALCS hits and eight of the team's nine home runs against Tampa Bay.
To reach the Fall Classic, the Astros have to beat a member of the team's World Series triumph in 2017.
Charlie Morton has allowed two earned runs in his four postseason starts for the Rays, and he kept the Astros off the scoreboard in ALCS Game 2 while conceding five hits over five innings. If Morton once again contains the Houston order, he may allow the Rays offense to take the lead and diminish the chances of a potential Astros comeback.
Tampa Bay followed that strategy in Game 2, as it scored three runs off Lance McCullers Jr. in the first inning and did not allow Houston to score until the sixth inning. If you believe the Rays can replicate that winning formula Saturday, they are worth the World Series bet at +275 since their price would drop with a Game 7 victory.
Atlanta sits in the same precarious position Tampa Bay failed to win out of Friday, as it holds a 3-2 advantage over the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Since the NL East champion has an easier path to reach the World Series, its odds are not as high as those of the other three franchises. But the Braves still come at decent value, especially if you think they will wrap up the NLCS in six games. If that happens, their price would dip.
Atlanta possesses a dominant one-two punch in Max Fried and Ian Anderson at the top of its rotation. They combined to allow a single earned run in 10 innings in Games 1 and 2.
Brian Snitker will turn to Fried in Game 6 and Anderson for a potential Game 7 on full rest to try to put away the Dodgers.
Los Angeles is still a dangerous a team, but it has the toughest path to reach the World Series of the four contenders.
The Dodgers have outscored the Braves 32-29 in the series thanks to their 24 runs over the past three games. However, they have been silenced for long stretches of the NLCS. After scoring 15 runs in the first three frames of Game 3, the Dodgers plated two runs in the following 15 innings.
If Fried limits the Dodgers' effectiveness—like he did with nine strikeouts over six innings in Game 1—their chances to force Game 7 will diminish.
In a similar vein to the Astros prior to ALCS Game 6, the Dodgers own the highest value on the championship odds board. If the Dodgers work better against Fried Saturday, they will sit at a lower price to win the World Series ahead of NLCS Game 7.
Since the Dodgers qualified for two of the past three World Series out of the NL, they may be worth a wager based off their +350 odds.
Never-Say-Die Astros Set Up Season's Biggest Game as Rays Continue Melting Down
Oct 17, 2020
Umpire Ted Barrett steps between Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Diaz and Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado during the sixth inning in Game 6 of a baseball American League Championship Series, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020, in San Diego.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
SAN DIEGO — This is what a full-fledged meltdown looks like: Tampa Bay starter and 2018 AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell being hooked by manager Kevin Cash with two on, none out and a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning—and clearly unhappy about it.
This is what a high-definition meltdown sounds like: Lip readers easily seeing Snell mutter "What the f--k are we doing?" and, "Oh my God, man." And then the walls to the Rays' aquarium utterly collapsed over the next three innings with relievers Diego Castillo and Shane McClanahan getting swallowed whole.
Indeed, what are they doing?
Vampires live. One game away from elimination three nights ago, Houston evened this series with a breezy 7-4 cruise Friday, forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 in San Diego's Petco Park on Saturday night.
And right now, Tampa Bay is running low on crosses and looking plumb out of stakes to drive through the heart of this Astros team.
"Oh yeah, we're not through writing history," Houston manager Dusty Baker said. "I'm hoping we can have a happy ending to this historic season, this historic year. There's been a lot of famous deaths, the coronavirus, living in the bubble, life. There's been all kinds of stuff [and] this team has battled back, big time.
"You've gotta love this team, some people hate this team, but you've at least got to respect this team."
From the game's worst cheating scandal since the 1919 Black Sox to the World Series? Tune in Saturday night.
Now, nine innings are all that stand between Houston becoming the first team to erase an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series since the 2004 Boston Red Sox shocked the New York Yankees in the ALCS and went on to win the World Series.
"I've heard about their comeback," said Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker, who was 7 at the time. "If there's another team that can do it, it's us."
Meantime, Tampa Bay, which all but had its reservations confirmed for only its second World Series appearance in franchise history, is one more whoopee cushion of an evening away from historical embarrassment.
It's getting difficult to watch in here.
"We've just got to bounce back," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "This isn't the scenario we wanted when we were up 3-0 but this is a resilient group. I'm encouraged the offense got going there. We're going to show up tomorrow like we always do and try to find a way to win.
"No doubt, momentum has shifted. But I would count on this team being very capable of bouncing back."
This is also how the cookie—and Tampa Bay—crumbles: Two batters after Snell's premature departure, George Springer drove an opposite-field single against Castillo past a shifted Rays defense that scored two runs as Tampa Bay's lead disappeared for good.
Then Jose Altuve smashed a double off the left-field fence, scoring Springer all the way from first base even though there was one out because Tampa's Brandon Lowe, making an infrequent appearance in left field, threw to the wrong base.
"Yeah, I was disappointed for sure," Snell said of his brief, 82-pitch outing. "I felt really good, felt locked in, felt like I had a really good game plan versus that lineup."
If we could interrupt here for one more brief mound visit: Snell may have felt good and been locked in, but he also walked four of the 17 batters he faced. Of his 82 pitches, just 45 were strikes.
He didn't have his A-game.
"It's frustrating," Snell continued. "I wanted to go deep into that game. I was very confident, even with a walk and ground ball [Aledmys Diaz's single, Snell's final batter], I still felt very, very, very, very confident."
By mid-game, it became obvious that the Astros were in the Rays' heads. Tampa catcher Mike Zunino, furious after striking out in the fifth, angrily snapped his bat in half over his thigh while returning to the dugout. Valdez was carving them up like Halloween pumpkins with his specialty, a curve that bends more than a jack-o'-lantern's toothy grin. He got 15 swings and misses via the curve—including Zunino's bat-breaker—the most by any pitcher in the majors this season in a single game, according to the scouting service Inside Edge.
One inning later, Tampa first baseman Yandy Diaz snapped at Astros pitcher Framber Valdez after taking ball four. Yes, you read that right: Diaz was given a free pass and nearly started a fight. Apparently, his complaint was that Valdez was smiling and having fun at his expense. The two exchanged words, and Astros shortstop Carlos Correa darted to Valdez and gave the pitcher a talking to, as if fired by rocket launcher.
Correa admitted he maybe got in his teammate's face a little too aggressively, but "I know Framber pretty well and he can get distracted too easily when things happen."
He said he told Valdez, "It is not your job to be the bigger man. Your job is to win the ballgame, focus, get me a ground ball and let's get out of the inning."
Next batter? Correa got his ground ball when Lowe bounced into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
That is what the Rays are up against. Correa has the steely will to win of a silent assassin, and he is an influencer.
The Rays? They have the look of a team that is seeing ghosts.
They've got one more game to pull themselves out of it.
Can they get it together? Will they get it together?
The Astros, gaining momentum each day, have delighted in playing the role of the underdog. As Baker said before Game 6 when asked if all the pressure would be on Tampa Bay since the Rays had failed twice to close out Houston, not so fast.
"All the pressure's on us, it only makes sense," Baker said. "They've only got to win one. We've got to win two.
"Then, tomorrow, the pressure will be even."
So it's almost tomorrow.
But will the pressure be even?
The Rays have lost three in a row and clearly are ruffled.
"They're frustrated," Cash said. "We're all frustrated. But I don't think they're tensing up. They recognize they've got an opportunity for a fourth time now to do something special."
Said Zunino: "We take it as a one-game series right now. It's one of those where if we were in [the Astros'] boat, would it be any different? We're 3-3 right now and someone's going to win tomorrow. … We have to keep in mind that we're still right in this thing."
The Astros are playing in their fourth consecutive ALCS. And even though missing this year are ace Gerrit Cole (signed with the Yankees as a free agent last winter) and ace Justin Verlander (out for the season with arm trouble), their core is steeped in experience. Altuve, Springer, Correa, first baseman Yuli Gurriel and third baseman Alex Bregman have played in 56 postseason games together, more than any other group of five players in MLB history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Granted, records like that are somewhat muted in this era of expanded playoffs—Babe Ruth and any four of his teammates never had these kind of chances, for example. But still, for modern times, nobody carries more experience than what these guys will bring into Game 7.
Tampa Bay's best asset on Saturday is that right-hander Charlie Morton will start on full rest. Morton this autumn has become only the fifth pitcher in history to start and win four consecutive postseason decisions (no relief appearances in between) and surrender one or fewer earned runs in each. The others: Curt Schilling (5, Phillies and Diamondbacks, 1993-2001), Masahiro Tanaka (4, Yankees, 2017-2019), Whitey Ford (4, 1960-1961) and Christy Mathewson (4, New York Giants, 1905-1911).
"As much as anybody on our roster, he's the been-there, done-that guy," Cash said. "We've relied on Charlie quite a bit in his two years with us. I'm not sure if there will be a game bigger than this one to rely on him."
Cash paused for a bit and chuckled at his own punchline.
It sounded a lot like gallows humor on a night that surely wasn't about to afford him a whole lot of sleep.
Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow Scott on Twitter and talk baseball.
World Series 2020: TV Schedule Guide and More Known Info
Oct 16, 2020
Tampa Bay Rays Randy Arozarena celebrates his solo home run against Houston Astros' Enoli Paredes during the fifth inning in Game 5 of a baseball American League Championship Series, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Both the Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves stand a single victory from reaching the 2020 World Series.
Tampa is still working to close out the Houston Astros, who avoided elimination for the second straight day. Carlos Correa's walk-off homer gave Houston a 4-3 win and trimmed its deficit in the American League Championship Series to 3-2.
In the National League, Atlanta rode a spectacular effort from rookie pitcher Bryse Wilson and a late offensive surge to a 10-2 victory over Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves now hold a 3-1 advantage in the series.
No matter if the Rays and Braves close out their respective matchups or the Astros and Dodgers mount a comeback, the World Series is slated to begin next Tuesday.
2020 World Series Schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 20
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 21
Game 3: Friday, Oct. 23
Game 4: Saturday, Oct. 24
Game 5*: Sunday, Oct. 25
Game 6*: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Game 7*: Wednesday, Oct. 28
* if necessary
All games to air on Fox. Times TBD.
Correa Keeps Astros Alive
Tampa Bay jumped out to a 3-0 edge in the ALCS, but Houston is starting to make it interesting.
George Springer opened the bottom of the first with a homer, and Correa finished Game 5 doing the same. The hot-hitting shortstop crushed his sixth big fly of the playoffs—which is one more than he hit during 58 regular-season appearances.
And, apparently, Correa called it.
"Walk-off," he told manager Dusty Baker before the 416-foot blast to center field, per Greg Bailey of KTRK.
One night after recording a save, Ryan Pressly picked up the win for Houston. The Astros navigated their bullpen day, using seven pitchers to save Framber Valdez for Game 6. He took the loss in Game 1 but allowed only two runs in six innings.
Blake Snell, who surrendered one run in five frames in Game 1, will start for the Rays. Tampa smacked three solo homers Thursday—including another from Randy Arozarena—but ended 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
"They've pitched us well, they've pitched us tough," manager Kevin Cash said, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. "That big hit continues to elude us with guys on base."
Wilson Propels Braves to Huge Win
Atlanta entered Game 4 with a 2-1 series lead, but the combination of Wednesday's disaster and Thursday's pitching matchup had the Braves in a tough spot.
Nine innings later, they're a win away from the World Series.
Making the eighth start of his MLB career, Wilson only allowed one hit—an Edwin Rios homer—in six innings. He outdueled Kershaw, who pitched well until back-to-back RBI doubles from Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna in the sixth inning.
Given what happened the day prior—a 15-3 loss in which the Dodgers scored 11 first-inning runs—it was an incredible bounce-back performance from Atlanta. Ozuna led the way with two homers, a double and four RBI.
"These guys are resilient, man, and they did a great job of turning the page from last night," Braves manager Brian Snitker said, according to Maria Martin of 11Alive.
Los Angeles mustered only three hits in the loss.
In the Dodgers' win-or-go-home contest Friday, 23-year-old Dustin May will start. Atlanta hasn't announced its pitcher, but it is believed to be a reliever.
Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
