Both sides have stated their positions clearly – no contract negotiations until after the baseball season. What sounded fair and reasonable back in spring is pretty one-sided now. Carlos Correa's bargaining position with the Astros is the sound of an old-fashioned slot machine hitting a jackpot.

The Astros shoulda, woulda, coulda given Correa what he was asking for last spring. Now the Astros will pay dearly for playing tough business guy.

Here's what should be done, even though it's unconventional and makes too much sense. Correa, his high-power William Morris show biz agent, Astros owner Jim Crane and general manager James Click need to be locked in a dingy Telephone Road motel room with no windows, the sheets haven't been changed since two guests ago, no room service, phones checked at the front desk and nobody leaves until Correa and the Astros have a new 10-year deal.

I don't care how much it costs. It's not my money. But it is my team.

If it takes till tomorrow, well, happy 27^th birthday Carlos Correa – Baby, You're a Rich Man (great song by the Beatles).

Otherwise … there's just too much otherwise. The Astros are headed to the playoffs and they'll be playing on prime time TV (well, prime time in Australia maybe). If Correa is a dangling free agent available for the Yankees and other big-budget teams to pluck, you can imagine what the TV announcers will be saying …

"Houston, your star quarterback is demanding a trade, you just lost your star basketball player, now you're risking your beloved, homegrown superstar shortstop in free agency … what's wrong with you, Houston?"

Correa has hand. Correa doesn't need the Astros. There will be more than a couple teams pulling out their pens to sign him to a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The Astros do need Correa, though. There's only one of him.

Correa is a shrewd businessman. He saved his best season for his contract year. You know the numbers: .285 with 24 homers. Just as important, and you didn't see this coming, he leads the Astros in games played. The knock on Correa was that he wasn't durable. He is now.

Correa is playing like a monster. It must be frightening for pitchers when Correa wags his bat ready to drive in a key run – he's good in the clutch. In the field, it's wondrous to watch him cock his arm before uncorking a 95-mph rocket to first.

Correa is the gem of this year's free agent collection, a better bet than Trevor Story or Corey Seager or Javier Baez. Somebody's got to play short for the Astros next season. Why not get the best one, and right now only the Astros can negotiate with him? If Correa gets to free agency, the Astros could be behind the 8 ball if another team, maybe the Yankees, says, "Whatever another team offers you, we'll top it by $20 million."

If the Astros make the World Series, the announcers could say, "Remember 2017 when the Astros won the World Series and Carlos Correa proposed to his girlfriend on the field? Well now they're having a baby and that child will grow up in Houston because Correa has a new long-term deal to stay with the Astros for 10 more years. What a fairy tale story!"

Or they could say, "In 2017 the Astros became world champs and Correa popped the question to his girlfriend. Now his bags are packed for another team."

Correa is the vocal team leader, the loudmouth in the dugout, the cocky shortstop who doesn't take crap from the other team. He's menacing at the plate, sensational in the field, a good teammate in the clubhouse and a role model in the community. The current Astros roster has a good three or four more seasons of competing for World Series titles. Correa may be the most important piece for that future. The Astros can't let him slip away over money.

Correa wants to stay in Houston. Don't worry about his "my last year with the Astros" comments. That's just posturing. Astros fans want him to stay in Houston. Agents and general managers know to the penny what offers will be out there for Correa after the season.

After the season may be too late for the Astros.