The Colorado Rockies may have to shed some salary in order to contend and fill some holes next season
New TV deals are supposed to be a boon for a baseball team. A signal to the fans that they are going to get some more funds and get some more talent in the fold. The Colorado Rockies just got themselves a fancy new television deal. However, the reaction to it from ownership isn’t what you think.
Dick Monfort on the Rockies' new TV deal: "It's not as lucrative as I wanted it to be." There is not additional new money for the team now. It kicks in in 2021.
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) October 1, 2019
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Yikes. Not great Bob.
The Rockies had a payroll of over $145 million last year and earned themselves a 71-91 record for it. The problem is, the only contracts coming off the books are backup catcher Drew Butera. They are locked in for over $120 million in contracts already, and players like Trevor Story, David Dahl, Kyle Freeland, and Jon Gray will all go through arbitration unless extensions are reached. They will all get raises.
The problem the Rockies have is all of the bullpen investments in free agency they have made have blown up in their face. Wade Davis is set to make $17 million next year. Bryan Shaw will make $9 million and Jake McGee will make $9.5 million. Ian Desmond will make $15 million next year in his own right. That’s not going to be easy to dump to try and free some money up to make moves to upgrade their pitching staff.
Rockies GM Jeff Bridich could just hold out hope that guys like German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela bounce back and try and give it a run. This was the NL Wild Card team just last season and almost beat the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division. Maybe they try a bad contract for bad contract swap and see if they can catch lightning in a bottle.
The 2020 Colorado Rockies are going to be an interesting watch. However, they won’t have the benefit of extra TV to try and help them get over the hump next year.