Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa is disappointed that his embattled team hasn't had the opportunity to silence critics.

The 2020 season was scheduled to start in late March but was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, delaying the Astros' quest to regain legitimacy in the wake of MLB's report on the club's sign-stealing scheme.

"Obviously, it's not ideal," Correa told Marly Rivera of ESPN. "It's not what we wanted. We wanted to play baseball and show what kind of team we are, the kind of players we are. But what's happening now is much more important than baseball."

Correa also responded to former teammate Evan Gattis, who said in early April that the club deserves scorn for cheating during its 2017 World Series-winning season and in parts of 2018.

"We have to turn the page," Correa said. "We have to stop talking about it and focus on what is important right now, which is to recover from this pandemic and then be able to return to baseball. We are eager to play this season because we have a lot to prove. And it has not happened so far, but we hope that at some point it will."

Houston made it back to the Fall Classic in 2019 but lost to the Washington Nationals in seven games.

The Astros' skipper and general manager were both given one-year bans and subsequently fired in January after the league finished its investigation. The club also lost its first- and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021 and was fined $5 million.