The Colorado Rockies had the highest payroll in franchise history in 2018 and it is very likely that the team will expand the payroll further in 2019 as they look to return to Rocktober once again.
Shortly after the beginning of the 2017 regular season, Bryce Harper set a new payday record for an arbitration eligible player when he avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $21.65 million contract with the Washington Nationals. The contract also included a $1.0 million incentive if he took home the NL MVP award in 2018.
Following the 2017 season, Josh Donaldson surpassed Harper with a $23.0 million contract agreement with the Toronto Blue Jays to also avoid arbitration ahead of the 2018 season. Although this new record set by Donaldson is very impressive amount to earn ahead of free agency, a certain superstar on the Colorado Rockies is likely to surpass this amount before the 2019 season.
Nolan Arenado is entering his final year of team control after helping the team return to the NLDS for the first time since 2009. According to MLB Trade Rumors, Arenado is likely to receive a recording breaking contract for an arbitration eligible during this upcoming offseason when he receives an estimated $26.1 million contract.
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Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich expanded the team payroll to $144 million for the first time in franchise history during the 2018 season. This was mostly due to the expensive bullpen trio of Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw, and Jake McGee that were added during free agency.
As two very important pieces in DJ LeMahieu and Adam Ottavino will be free agents this offseason, the Rockies will likely look to re-sign the pair of veterans. As the 2019 payroll is currently estimated to be $140.9 million before factoring in new contracts for these two long-time Rockies, it may go well over the $144 million mark before the season begins.
Due to this, it is likely that the Rockies will set a new franchise record in payroll at the same time that one of their players will set a new record for an arbitration eligible player. The only way Arenado will not receive a record amount for next season would be if the organization is able to work out a contract extension with their superstar third baseman. A hypothetical extension could contain a lower amount in 2019 in order to help the team fill out an impressive roster around Arenado.
The contract situation with Arenado will be interesting to keep an eye on during this offseason. It is very unlikely that he would be traded during the offseason as the Colorado Rockies are currently in a great position to return to Rocktober for the third straight year even without any significant offseason moves. However, if the Rockies fall out of the playoff race (and they are unable to secure a longer contract agreement with Arenado, will they look to trade him before the trade deadline?