3 Free Agents Who Will Land $200M+ Deals
All three of the following can become free agents by exercising their opt-out clauses. It's expected that at least two of them will do so.
Carlos Correa
He wanted $300M last offseason, couldn't find any takers, so settled on a short-term high AAV deal (3 years, $105M) with the Minnesota Twins with an opt-out. He had a very good-but-not-great season, marred by a couple of injuries.
Correa, 28, batted .291 with an .834 OPS, 22 HR and 64 RBIs in 136 games. Those numbers are pretty close to his career averages, and to be frank, don't add up to a $300M contract. So somewhere between $200M and $300M is the likely landing spot for the two-time All-Star and slick fielder.
Xander Bogaerts
Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has already said that re-signing Bogaerts is priority No. 1 for him this offseason. And Bogey has stated in no uncertain terms that he'd love to come back to the only franchise he's known in his 10-year major league career.
The two sides were said to be $100M apart in extension talks before the season began, so it's safe to assume his new deal will crack the $200M mark.
The 30-year-old Bogaerts is a 4-time All-Star with a lifetime .292 batting average and an .814 OPS, though he has been well above that for the past five seasons.
Nolan Arenado
This one is in question. It's unknown if he'll definitely opt out. Arenado, 31, has 5 years and $144M left on his deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, and has already confirmed that he's definitely returning to St. Louis. “I love it here. I love the guys. I just feel like I fit well with this organization," he said after the Cards' season ended on the weekend.
But it's still possible he could exercise his opt-out so that he and the Cardinals can renegotiate his deal and bump him up a bit, close to the $200M mark.
Also check out our look at the Top 4 players in the $100M-$200M range in free agency this winter.
Photo: Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
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