With MLB locking out its players, there’s very little going on out there relative to top free agents and the teams that may or may not hope to sign them. Phone calls cannot take place. No texting. No planting stories in the media to surreptitiously start discussions. Nothing.
BUT WHAT IF you could use a group of CHRISTMAS CAROLERS to DO YOUR BIDDING?!?!?!?
I kid, of course, but here’s a thing that actually happened and actually got a nod from Carlos Correa, who remains a plausible target for the Cubs.
The backdrop here is that there’s a group of very nice and fun Cubs fans who go Cubs caroling (if you’re super into Cubs Twitter, you may know Crawly, Bleacher Jeff, Danny Rocket, among others), and their efforts this year included a creative twist to incorporate a certain top free agent shortstop:
#Cubs diehards changing ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’ in an attempt to land Carlos Correa. Despite lockout, creative & festive, no doubt. pic.twitter.com/UGHGTd2C8k
— Ryan McGuffey (@RyanMcGuffey) December 12, 2021
Fox Sports saw the clip, shared it a few days later, and wouldn’t you know … Correa, himself, shared it with a message:
https://twitter.com/teamcjcorrea/status/1472048038227161089?s=21
BOOK IT. Carlos Correa wants to sign with the Cubs.
Again, I *mostly* kid, but I am reminded of how Marcus Stroman was having fun with fan bases – including the Cubs – on Twitter before ultimately signing with the team. Money is always gonna be the thing, but, when it comes to tiebreakers, players do care about where they will be spending so much of their time for the next X years. Having a fun group of fans in a great city, exemplified by things like this Cubs Caroling moment? It matters. It’s way at the margins, but it matters. The players are human, after all.
Hopefully Stroman stays hot on the recruiting trail with Correa!