THIS WINTER, THE Houston Astros were at a fork in the road.
Their longtime shortstop, Carlos Correa, was one of the faces of the franchise, a player who stood up for the clubhouse amid the criticism the team faced from its trash-can-banging, sign-stealing scandal. He was one of the first players the Astros chose during their years of tanking under Jeff Luhnow's front office, a No. 1 overall pick with high expectations who had lived up to his promise in the major leagues.
But Astros GM James Click knew re-signing Correa would cost the team resources that could instead go toward building depth.