OAKLAND -- Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said Friday, prior to the series opener against the A's, that he'd like to spend the rest of his career in Houston, but added he'd only consider signing a long-term contract extension before he's eligible for arbitration, which would be at the end of the 2018 season.
Correa's comments come one day after his agent, Greg Genske, told FanRag Sports that Correa "is never going to do an [early] multi-year contract." The report said Correa's contract was renewed at the Major League minimum of $535,000 this season.
"I've still got five more years of being here, so if the Astros come to me and they want to negotiate and the price is right, we'll consider it," Correa said. "Right now, I'm in the stage of my career where I'm just going to play baseball and try to put up numbers. They try to do something, it's got to be early. ... I've got to focus on playing good baseball so I can have good arbitration years."
Correa, who got a $4.8 million signing bonus after the Astros made him the No. 1 pick in the 2012 Draft, figures to make tens of millions if he plays out his three arbitration years (2019-21) prior to becoming a free agent. He could be a free agent at the age of 27, at the earliest.
Correa said he wouldn't want to make a bad deal and would wait for the right one, but said the Astros haven't approached him yet.
"They haven't talked to me about anything," he said. "That's why I'm not worried about it. They haven't talked to me about money, they haven't talked to me about an extension, they haven't talked to me about being here for a longer time. I'm just playing baseball here with the Houston Astros.
"I love the team, I love the guys in this clubhouse, I love the fans, I love our stadium, so hopefully I can stay in Houston for the rest of my career."
Correa also has lucrative endorsement deals with Adidas, Topps and Blast Motion.
"I've had a lot of offers for endorsements and stuff like that, and I want to focus on baseball this year," he said. "I feel like with the endorsements I have right now, it's enough."