Carlos Correa’s agent switch all but officially removes Yankees from chase

ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 13: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros while playing the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 13, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - AUGUST 13: Carlos Correa #1 of the Houston Astros while playing the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on August 13, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)

What perfect timing! We just talked about how this speculation from an MLB insider pretty much ruled the New York Yankees out on Carlos Correa, and now we have actual news to support that point.

SNY’s Andy Martino said the only way he could see the Yankees getting involved is if Correa’s price dropped close to $200 million … which would never happen in a million years. And now it’s definitely not going to happen. In fact, it’s now more likely he gets $350 million or more rather than watch his market depreciate.

Because official news from Tuesday night revealed Correa was switching agents to Scott Boras, who just negotiated the Corey Seager ($325 million) and Marcus Semien ($175 million) contracts before the lockout. It appears Correa made the switch not too long after the MLBPA took issue with his former agency purchasing 10 minor league baseball teams.

If all evidence already didn’t point to Correa getting a 10-year deal that exceeds Seager’s dollar amount, well, now you have it.

Whenever players make the decision to hire Boras as their agent, it’s a clear indication they are chasing the most amount of money possible in free agency because he’s the master negotiator in this league.

This is the same guy who just got James Paxton a one-year, $10 million guaranteed deal with the Boston Red Sox that could turn into a three-year, $36 million agreement … and the left-hander has pitched in six total games since the start of the 2020 season!

Carlos Correa hiring Scott Boras rules the Yankees out of his free agent chase.

This news won’t merely “affect” the Yankees, it’s going to remove them as a suitor in the Correa sweepstakes. New York has a number of Boras clients on their payroll, but only two that have signed as free agents: Gerrit Cole and Zack Britton.

How have those deals worked out for them? Well, they paid Cole, which was great because they needed him, but they also gave him a record-setting $324 million, which was $79 million more than the next highest-paid starter in the league (Stephen Strasburg, $245 million). We’re not here to complain about it, but you can see the obvious issue with that.

Next up is Britton, who signed a four-year, $53 million contract back in 2019, which made him one of the highest-paid relievers in the sport at $13 million per season and he wasn’t even the closer. All that for 42 total games in the final three years of his deal. Again, not complaining about the deal, but you can see how this would affect the front office’s thinking when they’re about to commit to another $300 million deal.

So all it takes is for the Yankees to look back on these two and realize they won’t be paying $35 million AAV for Correa, who carries a lot of baggage with the Astros’ cheating scandal in addition to some durability concerns.

There will be plenty of hopeful fans on Twitter still trying to stoke the “Correa to NYY” fires, but it’s best to ignore that because it’s going to set everyone up for disappointment.

Not that we’re in support of it, but expect a stopgap option in the form of Gio Urshela or an even more underwhelming option before the Yankees usher in one of their next top prospects to take over the shortstop position for the next decade.

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