Correa on return to Houston Astros: 'It's not up to me'

Going forward, Houston Astros star shortstop Carlos Correa knows he may have little say in where he gets to call home.

Correa is set to be a free-agent this offseason and it’s anybody’s guess as to what that will mean about his ongoing stay in the place he has called home since he was just 17.

“This is my home, but it’s not up to me,” Correa told MLB.com as the Astros battled the Chicago White Sox in the first-round of the AL Division Series.

So far, the Astros have appeared reluctant to pay Correa what other teams seem willing to. The two sides began talking about a new contract as far back as last offseason and still there are no guarantees.

Through it all Correa has continued to be Correa, smashing a career-high 26 home runs this season and leading all position players with a 7.2 overall WAR and 2.9 defensive WAR.

“I’m just hoping that there’s a way that we can retain and sign Carlos, because he’s a big part of this team, not only on the field, but he’s one of the real leaders,” said manager Dusty Baker.

General manager James Click simply told the Houston Chronicle, “Right now, we’re focused on the postseason. We’ll address the rest of it when we can.”

No matter what, Correa knows he’ll always have the memories, such as the Astros drafting him No. 1 in the 2012 MLB draft and the feelings he had the first time he took the field at Minute Maid Park.

“I just felt like it was still a dream and I couldn’t wait to be here, playing full-time,” he said. “When they take you with the first pick overall, I feel like all the pressure should be on you to make this organization better. Through my time here I have delivered, and I’ve done good things for this organization. Winning a championship was up there with that, but also representing this team the right way off the field, that makes me proud.”

But in the end, Correa knows business is business.

“They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do to help this organization keep going in the right direction,” he said. “We built something special here, so I would love to be part of it for years to come. But I understand how the business works, so there will never be hard feelings.”