Carlos Correa Sounds Ready To Part Ways With Astros

Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said about the only thing going through his mind in the ninth inning was that he may have played his final game as a shortstop for the Astros.

The Astros lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games. The Braves skunked the Astros 7-0 in Houston to clinch the title.

Correa now enters free agency, and he doesn't sound like a man with a plan to return to Houston.

"All I can say is I did everything in my power to make this team a better club, trend the right way and I’m proud of my time here," he told reporters after the game.

He broke in with the Astros in 2015 and has been a member of the organization which has reached the World Series three times in five years (including the asterisk championship season of 2017).

“To the fans, I want to say thank you for your support," Correa said. "My time here was amazing. … I got here as a boy and turned into a man.”

Again, that sounds like someone who intends to play for someone else besides the Astros next season.

If so, it was indeed a brilliant run. Correa played in 752 games with Houston and ranks just outside the top 10 in franchise history in home runs (133) and RBIs (489).

It's likely all over now, though.

"The Astros of 2021 are a much different team than the Astros of 2015 with which Carlos Correa broke into the big leagues," wrote Jake Aferiat of Sporting News. "The franchise is at a different juncture, with different recent history and a different trajectory."