Throughout the offseason the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last time we discussed out favorite moments of the 2022 season. This week we're going to take the free agent shortstop market.
Which star shortstop would you most want to sign this offseason?
R.J. Anderson: Carlos Correa. Put simply: I think he's more likely to remain at shortstop long-term than either Trea Turner or Xander Bogaerts, and more likely to remain a good hitter than Dansby Swanson. I also think people are sleeping on how good he was last season with the Twins. It was not a down or disappointing year for him in any individual respect.
Dayn Perry: I have to agree on Correa. Odd as it sounds, he feels a bit underrated (he certainly was by the market last winter). He's an elite producer at the plate by shortstop standards, and I'm still comfortable thinking of him as a plus fielder at the position even though 2022 raised some concerns on that front. He's also almost a year-and-a-half younger than Turner.
Matt Snyder: I'm gonna have to agree that it's Correa. He's still only heading to his age-28 season and it's been since 2019 that we could truly question his durability. He's an elite defender capable of hitting like an MVP and it seems like he'll be open to eventually moving to third base if and when that becomes the correct play. Yes, his team folded down the stretch to miss the playoffs, but Correa hit .361/.423/.585 in his last 37 games. There's only so much one player can do.
I'd slot Turner a close second and I think he ages really well. I like Bogaerts as well, so third place in this group is far from an insult. My concerns lie with Swanson. He had a 5.7 WAR last season, but his previous career high in a full season was 2.2. Maybe he was going to ride that 2.8 in the 60-game 2020 season to a similarly awesome season like he had in 2022, but we can't know for sure. He had a career 90 OPS+ before this past season. I worry that he's a one-hit wonder, or if we wanted to loop in 2020, maybe just an inconsistent player. I'd be fine with him as my everyday shortstop, to be clear, just not with giving him the type of contract that would make him a franchise cornerstone. He's better suited as a role player.
Mike Axisa: I think there's a clearly defined 1-4 order this offseason:
- Carlos Correa
- Trea Turner
- Xander Bogaerts
- Dansby Swanson
Great players, all of 'em, but Correa is the youngest by more than a full year and he has the longest track record of being a top of the line defender. You're paying for future performance, not past performance, and Correa has the most peak years remaining. He is clearly No. 1 to me and Swanson is clearly No. 4 because 2022 was his first time he was an above-average hitter in a full 162-game season, and you should always be wary of a big one-year spike in defensive stats (like he had this year). Give me Correa, then Turner, then Bogaerts, then Swanson in that order.
