Would the offseason have been a disaster without Correa? With or without Correa I don't think they're done making moves, so time will tell. I was disappointed they missed out on some SP opportunities in free-agency, but the need may be filled via trade. I still think they need one middle of the rotation SP and one decent reliever.
Did we absolutely need a shortstop? We needed someone, whether it was Correa or a stop-gap to get us to Lewis/Lee/Martin. I would have been content with the latter, and so I wouldn't judge the offseason a disaster if Correa had gone elsewhere. I like Correa and I think he makes them better, but going forward I don't think he's going to be the elite player some expect him to be. I like $200 million over six years better than $285 million over ten, but that's still A LOT of money to tie up in one player. (Can you tell I'm a glass half-empty kind of person.)