According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the 2017 sign-stealing scandal is a factor in why the Los Angeles Dodgers won’t pursue free agent shortstop Carlos Correa.
The MLB Hot Stove is red hot as the Winter Meetings reached their conclusion on Wednesday, Dec. 7. On the last day, there were big agreements reported, including Aaron Judge staying with the New York Yankees, and catcher Willson Contreras heading to the St. Louis Cardinals. When it comes to some of the biggest names available, one of them is Carlos Correa.
When it comes to teams that are in need of a shortstop, the Los Angeles Dodgers come to mind. After all, they did lose Trea Turner to the Philadelphia Phillies on a 11-year, $300 million deal. Would the Dodgers pivot to sign a shortstop like Correa?
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers are not pursuing Correa “in part out of concern that a sizable portion of their fan base would not welcome the move.” That is due to the fact, as Rosenthal says, that Correa was “the most outspoken member” of the 2017 Houston Astros team that was found guilty of illegally stealing signs. That Astros team, of course, beat the Dodgers in that year’s World Series.
Dodgers not pursuing Carlos Correa due to Astros sign-stealing scandal
Prior to the 2020 season, when the league released their findings in Houston’s sign stealing-scandal, Correa was the most combative member of the team. He publicly fought back against those who said their World Series title wasn’t legitimate. Perhaps most notably, he bashed then-Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger, after he called the Astros’ punishment “weak” and that Jose Altuve stole the AL MVP in 2017 from Judge.
There is also another reason, not Astros-related, as to why they won’t pursue Correa or any top-tier free agent. Rosenthal says that the Dodgers are waiting to see if MLB will uphold pitcher Trevor Bauer’s two-year suspension for violating their policy on domestic violence and sexual assault. That is because the team is unsure if they will owe Bauer any back pay.
Correa is one of the top free agents available. He is coming off of a 2022 campaign where he recorded a .291 batting average, a .366 on-base percentage, a .467 slugging percentage, 22 home runs, 64 RBI, 70 runs scored, and 152 hits.
For those wondering if the Dodgers would try to offset the loss of Turner with Correa, that’s not happening.