The Houston Astros and shortstop Carlos Correa finally agreed to an $11.7 million deal for the upcoming 2021 MLB season. The 26-year-old initially asked for a $12.5 million contract while the team opted to go lower at $9.75 million. Both sides eventually met halfway and avoided having an arbitration hearing altogether by way of the new deal, via Jon Heyman.

Correa is in his final year of arbitration after settling for an $8 million paycheck for the 2020 season. He is coming off a dismal offensive campaign for the Astros where he only recorded a line of .264/.326/.383 along with five home runs and 25 RBIs through 58 games last season.

Nonetheless, the Puerto Rican remained a valuable player on the team after leading the Astros to a 29-31 record to finish in second place in the AL West division. The Houston-based squad dealt an upset to the Minnesota Twins and emerged victorious on a 2-0 series sweep in the Wild Card Series.

Correa and company continued their rampage when they eliminated division rival Oakland Athletics in a 3-1 series victory in the AL Division Series. The Astros eventually took the Tampa Bay Rays down to the wire as they stretched the American League Championship Series to seven games.

The Astros were one game away from reaching the World Series but eventually fell short in a 4-2 loss to the Rays in the all-important Game 7. Despite the loss, Correa still capped an impressive postseason campaign after hitting .362 with six total home runs and 17 RBI in 13 contests.

After securing a deal heading to his seventh season in the league, Carlos Correa will certainly be a huge part of the Astros' bid for a bounce-back effort this season.