The Atlanta Braves are World Series champions and now baseball is in the middle of its first work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike. MLB and the MLBPA were unable to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement prior to the Dec. 1 deadline, so the owners locked out the players, and the hot stove has been put on hold for the foreseeable future.
Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we tried to predict the future of the Athletics and Rays. This week we’re going to find homes for two of the top unsigned free agents.
R.J. Anderson: There are only so many major spenders with needs at shortstop remaining: the Yankees, Cubs, Astros … maybe a surprise team or two pops up, but you have to think that those are probably the main clubs pursuing these players. As such, I’m going to guess Correa ends up with either the Yankees or the Cubs, and that Story links up with either the loser of the Correa sweepstakes or the Astros. (Maybe this is cheating, but gosh we’re two months into a lockout; we all deserve some slack.)
Dayn Perry: I’m going to roll with the AL East big spenders on this one. I think the Yankees will behave rationally and pay the going rates for Correa, who gives them a big offensive and defensive upgrade at the position. As for Story, I think he lands in Boston. He’s a better defender than Xander Bogaerts, so maybe he pushed Bogaerts over the second base. If the Sox defer to Bogaert’s preferences, then Story could fill that major hole at second base for Boston.
Matt Snyder: The Cubs, Yankees and Astros make the most sense at this point for Correa by a mile, it seems to me. The Cubs can’t be trusted to spend on their own product just yet — though maybe the short-term, high-AAV Stroman deal provides hope? — and there was little out their connecting the Yankees to Correa before the owner lockout. And the Correa relationship with the Astros’ front office seemed like it soured? I guess I’ll go Yankees on Correa, but I’m far from confident. On Story, he might bottom out and need a Marcus Semien “show me” one-year deal. If that happens, why not just play it again with a different player from the Blue Jays‘ perspective? I’ll go with that for my pick.
Mike Axisa: I don’t understand it, but the Yankees seem unwilling to spend big on a shortstop, so I’m ruling them out. The Red Sox (Chaim Bloom) and Astros (James Click) didn’t hire executives away from the Rays because ownership wants to spend money, so they’re out too. I’m going to say Story lands with the Twins, who badly need a shortstop and can move top prospects Royce Lewis and Austin Martin to other positions given their versatility. As for Correa, I’ll say he goes to the Phillies. They’ve shown they’ll spend big on the right players, they have a good amount of money coming off the books after this season, and shortstop is a black hole. I wouldn’t let top prospect Bryson Stott stop me from signing Correa. You can easily find a way to get both in the lineup.