Astros, Correa avoid arbitration with reported 1-year, $11.7M deal
The Houston Astros and superstar shortstop Carlos Correa have avoided arbitration, the team announced Saturday. The one-year pact is worth $11.7-million, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
🚨OFFICIAL: Per GM James Click, the #Astros have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with @TeamCJCorrea, avoiding arbitration. pic.twitter.com/zgEfJtJr5P
— Houston Astros (@astros) February 6, 2021
Correa is in his final year of arbitration and will be eligible to hit free agency following the 2021 campaign.
The 26-year-old All-Star was headed for an arbitration hearing after filing for a $12.5-million salary. The Astros countered at $9.75 million.
The former first overall pick has been among the league's best shortstops since breaking into the majors in 2015, but he's missed time in three of the last four seasons due to injury. He's authored an .833 OPS with 107 homers and 33 steals over 604 career games.
Correa is coming off a down year after hitting .264/.326/.383 over 58 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He returned to his elite form in the playoffs, however, slashing .362/.455/.766 with six home runs in 13 postseason games to help the Astros reach the American League Championship Series.
The Astros have no other pending arbitration cases remaining.