St. Louis Cardinals reportedly a fit for Carlos Correa

The St. Louis Cardinals are reportedly a potential fit for superstar free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa.

Once the lockout is over, the St. Louis Cardinals are going to target offensive depth. The name most prominently linked – Colin Moran – is a much more likely target than, say, Nelson Cruz or Kyle Schwarber.

But could the Cardinals target Carlos Correa? Jon Heyman of MLB Network mentioned the Cardinals as a potential fit for the star free-agent shortstop, also listing the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox.

Cruz and Schwarber are unlikely targets because both would primarily be in the designated hitter role, with the Cardinals wanting to get consistent at-bats in that spot for young players such as Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Lars Nootbaar, among others. Signing either one would impact that, of course, while also significantly limiting their ability to upgrade their bullpen.

That last point applies to Correa, who wants to be paid over $330 million. Signing him would give the Cardinals a third big contract in addition to Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt and would ruin any financial flexibility that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak worked to build over the last few seasons.

Besides, the Cardinals are intent on going with Paul DeJong at shortstop, and have shown no indication that they will back off that stance. They were not players for Corey Seager, Marcus Semien or Javier Baez. By all indications, they weren’t in on Trevor Story before the lockout. So it’s unimaginable that stance has shifted, especially with the price tag it will take to sign Correa.

Is there a lot of intrigue that comes with Correa? Of course. Signing him would make the Cardinals the favorites to win the World Series. But there are too many factors working against a potential Correa deal in St. Louis. While there is a fit, a deal has no chance of happening.