Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees Brushing the Past Aside When it Comes to Carlos Correa

New York’s power brokers have all said that Correa’s involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal won’t impact their potential pursuit of the shortstop.

If the Yankees don’t land Carlos Correa, it won’t be because of his involvement in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

New York’s shot-callers—Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone—have all said that Correa’s prior cheating won’t impact a potential pursuit. The Yankees need to upgrade at shortstop, and the 27-year-old Correa is the best of a talented free agent class that also includes Trevor Story, Javier Báez, Corey Seager and Marcus Semien.

Those other names don’t come with the baggage Correa does, but the Yankees have brushed that aside.

"He's obviously a great talent,” Steinbrenner said Wednesday, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “Hopefully, most people have moved on from that. I mean, I think it's only healthy to move on from things like that instead of stewing on it year after year. But, you know, people have the opinion that they want to have about that particular player. But, in general, we're going to look at every single option. It's the same thing we do every year."

READ: Aaron Boone: Top Shortstop Prospects Will Impact How Yankees Approach Free Agency

While fans and even some current Yankees, including Aaron Judge, have expressed opposite thoughts on Correa, Steinbrenner’s comments echo similar sentiments shared by the organization’s other honchos.

Boone spent part of Luis Rojas’ introductory press conference on Tuesday praising Correa, even calling him a “leader.” Cashman, meanwhile, said at last week’s GM Meetings that the feelings of fans and even players are not part of his evaluation. He added that Correa’s past is “certainly not part of that initial process for me.”

Brian Cashman says Carlos Correa's past with the Astros won't prevent the Yankees from pursuing him in free agency:

"Is he a great player? Yes. He's a free agent, so my job is to assess him and act accordingly." pic.twitter.com/KBlzBlKb6k

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) November 11, 2021

Cashman met with Correa’s agent during the GM Meetings, per the New York Post’s Ken Davidoff, but it’s unclear how serious New York’s interest is. Correa and the other shortstops mentioned will cost a serious chunk of change, and prospects Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza could push the Yankees toward more of a stopgap. Keep in mind, teams almost always do their due diligence and rarely admit to being out on free agents.

As the shortstop market develops, it does the Yankees no good to drudge up Correa’s past or say anything but kind words about him. His future including pinstripes will require a lot more than pleasantries, though.

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