Where and how much will Carlos Correa sign?
R.J. Anderson: The Giants, I’ll say. He is the greatest one still standing and they need an impact bat (and a heck of a consolation prize after losing out on Aaron Judge). Say it will take 10 years and $345 million to free Lindor.
Dayn Perry: I’ll go with the unexpected prediction and forecast that he stays with the current Twins, who have actually demonstrated a willingness to invest in the product in recent years. $330 million was spent on the acquisition overall.
Matt Snyder: Even though I believe it would be an upset at this stage, I’ll pick the Cubs. Jed Hoyer has advocated “smart spending” on any potential long or even slightly long contracts, but seeing all these deals here recently should be a wakeup call for him that if he wants the Cubs to be the type of player they should be — given their monstrous resources — he’s going to have to suck it up every once in a while and splurge, lest the Cubs become the Midwest version of the Red Sox with the whole “we tried” mantra They currently have a squad full of players who compliment one another, and Correa is the star player who propels them into contention. The long-term arrangement is considerably less concerning for him now than it would have been, say, for Xander Bogaerts.
The Padres, says Mike Axisa! Well, probably not, but with GM A.J. Preller, who knows? I’ll break the tie with my buddies and say the Giants in all seriousness. After losing Judge, they have a lot of money burning a hole in their pocket, and it would be disappointing to finish the summer without a star bat. The Giants will only outbid the Cubs because, in my opinion, San Francisco’s ownership is ready to stretch its financial resources farther than Minnesota’s will. For me, the Giants edge over the Cubs by a razor-thin margin. I’ll go with a 12-year deal with an annual salary of $32 million ($384 million total) for the contract.
