Baltimore Orioles: Carlos Correa Reportedly Open to Rebuild

The Baltimore Orioles are still going through a long rebuild, but signing Carlos Correa would be huge for the organization

Carlos Correa is a free agent for the first time in his MLB career and is looking to sign a long-term deal. The lockout came at a bad time for the 27-year old former Houston Astros shortstop, but it could end up helping the Baltimore Orioles.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN wrote in his article that Carlos Correa was “open to a rebuild”. That’s good news for Baltimore. Carlos Correa is very familiar with rebuilds with his time as an Astro and the way that Mike Elias works. Before becoming the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Orioles, Elias was responsible for drafting Correa as the Astros’ Director of Amateur Scouting.

Correa could be a building block in bringing a new winning mentality to the Orioles organization. Signing a player like Correa would automatically bring winning experience to a ballclub that is in need of winners to help bring that culture back to Baltimore.

The signing of a player of Correa’s caliber reminds me of when the Baltimore Orioles signed Miguel Tejada in 2003. He was supposed to be that building block to bring winning back to the Orioles. But, unfortunately, that didn’t happen. This time, the O’s are doing their rebuild the right way.

It’s uncertain how long of a contract and how much money the Orioles are willing to offer Correa, but it’s something to talk about. If they happen to sign him, what would Mike Elias do with Jorge Mateo? As of now, he’s the only shortstop on the major league roster.  Would they move him to third even though Kelvin Gutierrez is at third right now? There’s plenty of time between now and Spring Training to figure out all the details.

The lineup would be stacked and would be fun to see in 2022. Cedric Mullins at leadoff, Trey Mancini in the two-hole, Anthony Santander batting third, Correa at four, maybe Adley Rutschman in the five-hole?  That top-of-the-lineup would be a nightmare for any major league starter.