Rumor: Tigers Leading Destination For Free Agent Carlos Correa

 

The Detroit Tigers took a tiny step closer to respectability this season, and now they’re prepared to spend big to take their rebuild to the next level. The Tigers are being reported as a leading destination for Houston Astros impending free agent Carlos Correa. 

Tigers are one team interested in Carlos Correa, whose 7.0 WAR ranks him 3rd in AL. Set himself up nicely. Rangers, Yankees, Twins among others teams likely in an alltime great SS market. In Detroit, there’s an AJ Hinch link.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 1, 2021

This is shaping up to be a massive free agent offseason for shortstops. Corey Seager, Trevor Story and Marcus Semien are among the top names. But the Tigers are focused on Correa, and they would seem to have a leg up on the competition: As Jon Heyman pointed out, Detroit's manager is A.J. Hinch. Hinch was Correa's manager with the Astros for several seasons. And cheating or not, they had a lot of success together. 

Correa has 25 home runs this season, with an .843 OPS, and stands 3rd in the league in WAR, at 7.0. The Tigers had dreadful production out of the SS spot this year. 

As for Correa, he's left it open as to where he'd like to be next season. "If they want to keep me here, I'll be happy to stay here. If they don't see me here long term, I'll go play for somebody else," Correa said.

As usual, the New York Yankees are expected to be a big bidder. They soured on Gleyber Torres this year, and would love to add a player of Correa's caliber. Just not sure how Yankee fans would feel about a 2017 Astro coming to the Bronx.

Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports