Carlos Correa Officially Signs With Astros

The Houston Astros selected shortstop Carlos Correa first overall on Monday in the 2012 MLB draft. They officially agreed to a contract on Thursday. I don’t know if this is the smoothest contract negotiations have ever gone for a high pick, but if there have been smoother cases, they weren’t smoother by much.

Rumor has it that Correa signed for $4.8 million, which would follow earlier speculation. If true, that means the Astros have an extra $2.4 million to spend on the rest of their top picks, because the slot value for the first pick this year was $7.2 million. The Astros took Correa knowing he would sign for less than slot, which allowed the Astros to take the talented but potentially expensive Lance McCullers later on. New draft rules, and all that.

When the Houston Astros selected shortstop Carlos Correa first overall in the draft on Monday instead of pitcher Mark Appel, it came as a surprise. But no one ever thought the Astros would have trouble signing Correa to a contract. Sure enough, the talk was that Correa and the Astros would have a deal by the end of the week, and now we’re just about officially there:

Rumor has it an actual contract will be signed Thursday. The slot for the first overall pick carries a $7.2 million value, but Correa’s supposedly going to sign for something in the neighborhood of $5 million, leaving the Astros more money to spend on their other top picks.

All the speculation leading up to Monday’s first round of the 2012 MLB draft had the Houston Astros picking pitcher Mark Appel first overall. And the Astros might’ve intended to go with Appel all along, too, but in that event something must have changed, because the Astros selected Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa instead.

And Tuesday, a day after Correa was picked, we get word that he and the Astros are already nearing a contract agreement. Jon Heyman: