Detroit Tigers missing out on Carlos Correa might have been a good thing

The Carlos Correa saga continues as Detroit Tigers exude sigh of relief.

The Detroit Tigers may not have signed Carlos Correa last off-season when the team began its spending spree. While they did agree to a six-year, $140 million contract with shortstop Javier Báez, they lost out on the Carlos Correa sweepstakes (for the first time).

As the Detroit Tigers continue with their rebuild, they still have Báez with the organization. He has an opt-out after the 2023 season, but the future at shortstop for the Tigers remains Báez. This might have been the best-case scenario as the Correa saga continues to rage on.

I may not be the biggest fan of Báez being the Tigers guy, but Correa's situation makes me glad the Tigers avoided him. Last offseason, the Minnesota Twins won the Correa sweepstakes when he signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with opt-outs after each season.

Following the summer of 2022, Correa opted out. He is coming off a 136-game performance where he slashed .291/.366/.467 with 24 doubles, a triple, and 22 home runs over 590 plate appearances. Correa thought he would be able to pick up a contract with better value.

Correa ended up agreeing to a deal with the San Francisco Giants this off-season. He was slated to earn $350 million over 13 years back in mid-December. It seemed like the deal was ready to rock and roll until the physical, where the Giants opted to step back on things.

When Steve Cohen got word that Correa's deal fell through, he was quick to print some more money, as his philosophy has been off-season long. Correa and the Mets agreed to a 12-year, $315 million contract. The two sides sat with the deal for some time, but things ended up falling apart again during the physical.

Once again, Correa was a free agent. On Tuesday, January 10th, Correa crawled back to the Twins organization, agreeing to a six-year, $200 million contract. This deal was pending a physical; however, the Twins already knew his medical information and felt comfortable forking over the money.

In 2014, Correa suffered an ankle injury in the minors, which led to a holdup with Correa's health. He's gone on to be a two-time all-star, Rookie of the Year, Gold & Platinum Glove winner, and World Series championship.

The Twins brought back Correa. He's still going to be a solid shortstop and will benefit the team's roster. However, the Tigers may have just lucked out by avoiding a deal with him. They already have money invested in Báez.

While I, too, am frustrated with the lack of moves from the Tigers front office this year, avoiding Correa last year and this year was a good thing. I also was not actively advocating for them to sign Correa this off-season.

All this has made me feel like the Tigers were wise to avoid Correa. Granted, last year it was Al Avila half-heartedly spending, and this year was Scott Harris doing whatever it is you want to call this off-season; the Tigers emerged with a shortstop they feel is good for the long run.

The Tigers may have dodged a bullet with the Correa drama. I'm interested to see how this pans out for the Twins down the road.