EVERY-THING SPORTS
How Correa dilemma feels like Houston sports history repeating itself
Jun 23, 2021, 12:39 pm
EVERY-THING SPORTS
Back in September of the 2009 NFL season, Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson was angling for a new contract. The team frachise tagged him instead of negotiating a long-term deal when they couldn't come to terms. Robinson held out all of training camp amid the dispute. Rick Smith, the then general manager, was called to task with Robinson's infamous "PAY ME RICK" stitched on the back of his cleats before the opening game against the Jets. They went on to lose that game 24-7, went 8-8 that season, and Robinson signed with the Falcons in that offseason.
Fast forward 12 years, and the Astros' Carlos Correa is in the same position, as is Astros general manager James Click. After turning down a reported six year/$120 million dollar deal, Correa also turned down a five year/$125 million dollar deal as well. He's supposedly seeking a big dollar, long-term deal such as the ones fellow shortstops Fernando Tatis Jr. (14 year/$340 million dollars) and Francisco Lindor (10 years/$341 million dollars) received recently. Like most athletes in a contract year, Correa is performing at a high level. He's hitting .296 with 14 homers, 40 RBI, and 51 runs scored. Along with his impressive batting stats, he's sporting a .984 fielding percentage and has been healthy all season.
Correa will be 27 in September. Signing him to a 10-year deal wouldn't be as bad as one would think. However, it makes better business sense to sign him to a shorter term deal considering his injury history. Correa and his team are looking for security and money. Anything eight years or more worth upwards of $25-30 million dollars a year would be ideal for them in my opinion. Click hasn't been a general manager for very long and is facing a tough decision. Owner Jim Crane may be looking at his payroll and decide against offering Correa the kind of deal he's looking for, especially when one thinks of the money he's paying Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve. On the flip side, Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander are most likely both coming off the books after this season. If neither, or only one is brought back, that could open a salary spot for Correa.
The true tell will be what he's offered on the open market. Teams like the Yankees, who have a need at shortstop, will always be in position to outbid the Astros. There will be a couple other shortstops hitting the market as well who are just as good as Correa. So far, Correa has bet on himself. If you ask me, he's winning. If he keeps this up, he'll definitely get paid this offseason. Whether it's the Astros or another team is still in question.
Personally speaking, they should pay him. He's been the face of the team following the cheating scandal. His performance in the playoffs last season was remarkable. He's staying healthy, so far, and is performing at an All-Star level. Not often do you get a guy at his age, playing this good, at a key position. If you bring back Verlander at a cheaper salary, let Greinke walk, and offer Correa a competitive deal, the window could stay open a bit longer than most expect. At the rate he's going, Correa may be pricing himself out of Houston. If he stays healthy and keeps performing, Correa's own words will come back to haunt the Astros for not paying him: "What are they gonna say now?"
For months, daring bands of thieves linked to South American gangs have been making off with piles of jewelry and cash from the homes of the biggest superstars in sports, targeting the likes of the NFL's Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Sophisticated pillagers have deployed drones and signal jamming devices, sometimes posing as delivery drivers or maintenance workers, to gain access to gated neighborhoods and thwart home security systems, according to warnings issued by the NFL and NBA.
But in recent weeks, investigators across the U.S. have made a handful of arrests connected to at least one of the high-profile heists and discovered stolen sports memorabilia, jewelry and art stuffed into storage units in New Jersey.
A group of Chilean men stopped in January while driving in Ohio were charged Monday with stealing nearly $300,000 worth of designer luggage, watches and jewelry from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s house. Photos showed one suspect wearing a sparkly necklace with Burrow's jersey number that he had worn during interviews, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday.
“These individuals seem to be the alleged tip of the iceberg,” said Kenneth Parker, the U.S. Attorney in southern Ohio, who believes the men are working with South American theft rings that for years have been ransacking opulent homes from coast to coast.
Some luxury watches and jewelry stolen from homes across the country — not just those belonging to athletes — ended up being sold at a pawnshop in Manhattan's Diamond District and stashed away in nearby storage units, federal authorities said in court documents released Tuesday that accuse two men of fencing the items.
Whether the entire string of burglaries targeting athletes are connected to the same crews from South America or if those groups are working together isn't clear. Federal authorities leading the investigations have been tight-lipped since the FBI warned in December that crime organizations were preying on professional athletes.
Investigators say international crime rings have looted high-end houses for years, but now they're going after some of the biggest names in the NFL, NBA and NHL.
Thieves broke into the homes of Kansas City Chiefs teammates Mahomes and Kelce within days of each other in October around the time they played New Orleans and Kelce’s superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift watched the game from the stands.
Jewelry valued at about $30,000 was stolen from NBA All-Star Luka Doncic's home in Dallas in December. Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin reported a home invasion in January that happened while his team was playing at home.
Law enforcement officials warned sports leagues last fall that thieves had been striking on game days when they knew the players would not be home, often smashing through rear windows.
Some of the groups scoped out their targets by posing as home delivery drivers or joggers in secluded neighborhoods.
Burrow's home in Ohio, which sits on a gated street tucked along a wooded area, was broken into while he was in Dallas for a Monday Night Football game in December. The men charged in the invasion were found weeks later traveling with a Husky glass-breaking tool that one of them bought at Home Depot, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.
Players have been advised to not only beef up their home security but also avoid posting their whereabouts on social media.
The theft rings are focused on cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches and luxury bags, according to an NBA warning based on information from the FBI.
The two men indicted this week in New York City were accused of buying stolen watches, jewelry and other expensive items from a variety of burglary crews and reselling them at their pawnshop in Manhattan since 2020.
Court documents said the pair were tied to five separate burglary crews and linked one of the two suspects to the men accused of breaking into the residence of a “high-profile athlete in Ohio” on the same day that Burrow’s home was hit.
A judge on Friday denied bail for the pawnshop owners.