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Rockies Extend C.J. Cron

By Steve Adams | October 5, 2021 at 10:59pm CDT

The Rockies are keeping their first baseman in the fold, announcing an agreement with C.J. Cron on a two-year contract extension. The deal guarantees the Moye Sports Associates client a total of $14.5MM.

It’s the second extension of the day for the Rox, who also just locked up righty Antonio Senzatela on a five-year contract. Unlike Senzatela, who was already under team control for two more seasons via arbitration, Cron was slated to become a free agent after the World Series. The two sides had publicly expressed interest in working out a reunion, however, and it seems they’ll do so before Cron ever hits the open market and hears from other clubs.

The extension will bring Cron some stability after pinballing around the league in recent seasons. The former Angels first-rounder was traded to the Rays in the 2017-18 offseason, claimed off waivers by the Twins in the 2018-19 offseason, signed by the Tigers (after being non-tendered by Minnesota) in the 2019-20 offseason, and signed a minor league with Colorado this past offseason.

That minor league pact proved to be an overwhelming bargain for the Rox, as Cron rebounded from last year’s season-ending knee surgery and raked at a .281/.375/.530 clip with 28 home runs — the second-highest total of his career. That said, there are some red flags to consider as well.

Beyond the fact that Cron will turn 32 in January, he displayed some eye-opening splits. The overwhelming amount of Cron’s damage came at Coors Field, where he batted .326/.412/.661 as opposed to .235/.337/.397 on the road. He was also, as is typically the case, much more productive against left-handed pitching (.311/.393/.583) than against right-handed opponents (.269/.368/.503). The Rockies clearly weren’t concerned by the splits, however, and for a fairly modest price tag of $7.25MM per season, that’s a defensible stance. Cron’s numbers against right-handed opponents, after all, were still strong. And while the home/road splits are glaring, he still managed an above-average on-base percentage on the road while maintaining a respectable isolated power mark.

That increased walk rate, it should be noted, is perhaps the biggest driving factor of this deal. Prior to the 2020 season, Cron had walked in just 5.5% of his career plate appearances. He walked nine times in just 52 plate appearances with Detroit before sustaining a season-ending knee injury, however, and the newfound patience largely carried over into the 2021 season. This year’s 11% walk rate effectively doubled his career mark and served to dramatically boost Cron’s offensive floor in the process. So long as the newfound plate discipline is here to stay, Cron ought to be a convincingly above-average bat over the next two seasons, even if he’s more of an average hitter on the road and a prodigious slugger at home.

Cron, like Senzatela, will be paid $7.25MM in each of the next two seasons. It’s a reasonable price to pay for a solid power bat who rates as an average or better defender at his position. From a bigger-picture standpoint, the Rockies now have about $61MM on next year’s payroll — a figure that’ll jump to about $82MM, assuming Charlie Blackmon exercises a $21MM player option. That’ll leave a pronounced gap between the currently projected payroll and the franchise-record $145MM mark, giving the Rockies some leeway to add to the roster under newly minted general manager Bill Schmidt.

Given the manner in which the open market has increasingly devalued free agents on the wrong side of 30, specifically first-base-only sluggers — there’s a reason Cron was effectively non-tendered twice, after all — one could argue that the Rockies shouldn’t have jumped the market. Taking a more patient approach could well have presented them with a “better” deal on a comparable player, or perhaps even a lower price tag on Cron. At the same time, they’ve now secured some cost certainty and ensured they’ll hang onto the specific person and teammate they clearly were targeting.

The broader issue for the Rockies will be one of how they supplement this roster next year. Extending Senzatela and Cron figure to be well-received moves among the Rockies’ fanbase, but all those moves accomplish for now is taking steps to ensure this same 74-win group can stay together. With Gray and Trevor Story both still ticketed for free agency — and Story widely expected to depart — the Rockies will need to add multiple pieces and/or see several big strides from young players just to get back to this year’s level of play. Actually improving the product and, more improbably, piecing together a contender that can jostle with the two best teams of the 2021 season (Giants and Dodgers) will require substantially more effort from Schmidt and his lieutenants.

Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the Rockies and Cron were in active extension discussions. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network was first to report the two sides were in agreement. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the contract terms.

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114 Comments

  1. Luc (Soto 3rd best in the game)

    4 years ago

    Like the two extensions, even though I thought Antonio’s was expensive. Like the idea of extended players

    Reply
    • hiflew

      4 years ago

      $10MM a year for a starting pitcher is not really that expensive. It’s not a super cheap deal, but it’s about an average deal for an average starter. He is still young, so he could still improve and make the deal look cheap in the coming years. He could also flop and spend the last 2-3 years in AAA Albuquerque. But plenty of other franchises have made that mistake as well.

      Everyone always faults the Rockies for not having pitching. Well now they have 3 spots covered of the best rotation in team history with a 4th spot possibly coming in the form of Jon Gray. If Austin Gomber gets better, then the entire rotation would be set for the next few years. They have starters covered, so getting a bullpen overhaul and a couple of quality bats in the outfield could make the Rox a surprise contender next year.

      8
      Reply
      • Travis’ Wood

        4 years ago

        Why are you acting like Senzatela was a free agent? You can’t just say $10 mil AAV is fair while not even mentioning they had two more cheap years of control…. So the years they bought out are way more than $10’kil AAV.

        1
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        • hiflew

          4 years ago

          Yes and if they waited those two years and Senzatela had a good year or two, it is highly possible that he would have cost more than $50MM for just those 3 years. So yes, they are paying him more than arbitration value in the first two years with the gamble they will pay him less than open market value on the final three.

          1
          Reply
    • 1984wasntamanual

      4 years ago

      Yeah, just ignore the control they already had over him, that makes it sound way better, but it’s disingenuous.

      4
      Reply
    • The best23

      4 years ago

      Bro I’m mlb 50 million for a pitcher for 5 years is nop expensive is the way it is period

      Reply
      • DarkSide830

        4 years ago

        yeah, i think its a wise investment.

        Reply
      • JohhnyBets67

        4 years ago

        Except you gloss over the fact that the Rockies had Senzatela under control for 2 years. He wasn’t going to cost 20MM for those 2 years. It’s a 3 year 35 MM extension for a guy who I thought was a potential non tender after this season. The best teams typically don’t pay up for back end of the rotation production. Of course the Rockies aren’t and I sure as hell don’t see them becoming that anytime soon.

        3
        Reply
  2. davidk1979

    4 years ago

    What a weird front office

    6
    Reply
    • oldmansteve

      4 years ago

      How? A 1B bat with good contact rates playing in Coors. Perfect fit, and wont cost you a quarter or Freeman or half of Rizzo.

      13
      Reply
      • Travis’ Wood

        4 years ago

        Let’s see the contract first. You can’t bank on the Rockies being smart here lol

        5
        Reply
        • hiflew

          4 years ago

          Why not? Everyone always crucifies them without seeing results, so they should have some defenders.

          5
          Reply
      • mlb fan

        4 years ago

        “How”….CJ Cron will not be in Colorado when and if they ever return to relevance, so why not play your best young prospects?….If you are clearly not going anywhere, it always makes more sense to be developing the next group of young prospects than to pay veteran MLB placeholders such as Cron…..

        1
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        • Deleted User

          4 years ago

          He isn’t blocking anyone. Toglia is a year away at least, could shift one to DH when he gets there (if it is in the NL), and he’s athletic enough, they could play him in LF if they need to.

          6
          Reply
        • disadvantage

          4 years ago

          Why start the clock on their prospects now when they can have a perfectly cromulent stopgap, who provides some reason to come watch the Rockies play? Otherwise, Steve Nebraska got it right when he pointed out that their best first base prospect isn’t even ready for the bigs yet (and if he makes a case for himself, the Rockies SHOULD be able to adapt… although, they are the Rockies…).

          4
          Reply
        • Lanidrac

          4 years ago

          Because you don’t want to overexpose your prospects before they’re ready and likely ruin their development. There are good reasons why most rebuilding teams still spend some decent money on placeholder free agents (at least, ones not named the Pirates nor Marlins).

          Reply
    • CubsWin108

      4 years ago

      so that’s 12 million for Antonio, 21 Million for Blackmon, now Cron’s getting paid, story will probably accept the QO, German’s contract expires soon. Jon Gray is a free agent, the team needs bullpen help badly, they don’t have prospects. They have all this money tied down, only reason their record was solid was because of Coors, safe to say this team is going in the wrong direction.

      4
      Reply
      • JohhnyBets67

        4 years ago

        Their record was solid because of Coors?

        They don’t play there again? The other teams don’t get to hit at coors also when the game is going on? Organization sucks but that argument is worse. It’s a bad team but there’s enough talent to keep them out of the basement of the league. Not really a place anyone wants to be.

        2
        Reply
        • Travis’ Wood

          4 years ago

          Look at the home W-L compared to road and tell me Coors didn’t play a factor in their success. You’re delusional if you think otherwise. They’re used to player there, other teams aren’t. Pretty simple.

          1
          Reply
        • Lanidrac

          4 years ago

          Those home/road splits this season were a huge one-time fluke.

          Reply
      • Yankee Clipper

        4 years ago

        Story will not accept the QO. He’s going to get paid this offseason. Not as mu CNN as everyone thought, due to contract negotiations, etc., but paid nonetheless.

        Welcome to the Yankees, Trevor!

        Reply
        • CubsWin108

          4 years ago

          He’s accepting it, he’s coming off his worst season. The QO is gonna limit his market greatly, it’s already gonna be a stacked SS class, if he does accept the QO he gets 15-19 million, and get’s another shot to boost his stats at Coors, he has all the reason in the world to accept it.

          1
          Reply
        • Deleted_User

          4 years ago

          @FormerlyCubsWin108 Lol even in his “worst season” he was worth 3.5 WAR, picked things up as the season went on, his track record says he’ll be better in the future and he wants out of Colorado. He has as good a chance of accepting the QO as I do of ever receiving one. Go learn about baseball.

          Reply
        • CubsWin108

          4 years ago

          yea but what I was saying was this is a deep ss class, he would have a better market next year if he chose to accept the QO, go do some research and you’ll see Semien and Correa had 7 WAR seasons, Seagers and Baez had better war seasons as well, so instead of telling me to go learn about baseball, I suggest you do a quick google search to fact check yourself.

          1
          Reply
        • CubsWin108

          4 years ago

          Here’s another thing, Seager had a better war even though he had 200 less at bats this year, anddd did not get the advantage with Coors.

          Reply
        • Deleted_User

          4 years ago

          @FormerlyCubsWin108 No player who has 3.5 WAR in his “worst season” accepts the QO. Not one. By accepting the QO he would be a year older when he enters the open market and would be risking himself getting injured or regressing in 2022. No reason for him to do that when the money is going to be there for him this offseason.

          Semien, Correa, Seager and Baez being FA’s just means more teams are going to need a good shortstop now. Higher demand means Story makes more money.

          Again. Go learn about baseball.

          Reply
        • Yankee Clipper

          4 years ago

          Great points RPWftRB: Also, Cubs108, the fact that he will be one of the cheaper(?) SS among those listed (except Baez), will drive competition up, imho, for that reason.

          Also consider he is a better defensive SS than Seager, And Semien. Additionally, Semien, although great this year, has not been nearly as consistent for a career like Story, so I can see teams pivoting to Story for that reason.

          Teams don’t base their decision to get a SS on simply higher positive WAR. It is simply one of many stats taken into consideration by an entire analytics department, including impact on roster construction, performance within different divisions/teams, and defensive needs (how weak 3B or 2B is).

          2
          Reply
        • CubsWin108

          4 years ago

          Jose Abreu, Jake Odorizzi, both had fantastic seasons in 2019, then chose to accept the QO. Why? because your market gets heavily limited when offered a QO, I read an article about Dexter Fowler, and he was interviewed for the article and said that the reason he went to the Cubs instead of Baltimore was because of a last-minute contract change, due to the lost draft pick Baltimore would be handed, he gave insight on how it really affected your market. So unless Story is putting MVP stats, and don’t have a stacked SS class with you. Story rejects the QO. Sadly for him, he’s coming off his worst season while having the advantage of Coors Field, (It’s an advantage don’t try to argue that.) And he has to deal with a stacked SS class featuring lots of solid ss including Seager, Baez, Semien, Correa, Crawford, Chris Taylor, Miguel Rojas, so I think my point still stands, think about it like this, is there really any team willing to give him a 10 year 20+ deal at the moment, Look at all he has to gain from accepting the QO. He gets around 18 million. He gets another season to boost his market value at Coors Field, and he gets to be a FA in a lesser class.

          1
          Reply
        • KamKid

          4 years ago

          Abreu and Odorizzi didn’t particularly dislike the organizations they were with though. It sounds as if Story excitedly had his bags packed at the deadline and was disappointed not to have his ticket out of town punched.
          Story can still take a pillow contract if the market thinks he still needs to prove himself. Given his track record, age, and that his ’21 season wasn’t terrible, I would guess the market will be there for him on a big deal. Lindor’s down season didn’t stop the Mets from a big valuation. While the draft pick compensation might hurt his market a bit, I think he wants out and I think there are teams who would love him on a one year deal if he wants to go the pillow contract route. I can’t think of a ton of examples, but Atlanta gave Ozuna a one year deal at around the QO rate when there was a QO attached.

          Reply
        • Deleted_User

          4 years ago

          @FormerlyCubsWin108 Story isn’t accepting the QO. And you will be hearing from me when he doesn’t.

          Reply
        • MLB Top 100 Commenter

          4 years ago

          Story is not going to stay with the Rockies unless they offer much more than other teams. Certainly not taking the QO. But I do agree that no one is offering Story a ten year deal at $20+ million per year. More like a 4-6 year deal at $15-20 million per year.. But Story will sooner go to a contender on a one year deal that pays slightly under the QO than return on the QO. Now if a contender offers four years at $16 million per year and the Rockies offer 6 years at $22 million per year, who knows, money often smooths over bad feelings.

          Reply
      • Deleted_User

        4 years ago

        @FormerlyCubsWin108 No way, no how, is Story accepting the QO.

        1
        Reply
  3. Get Off My Mound

    4 years ago

    Now this extension makes sense.

    8
    Reply
    • Travis’ Wood

      4 years ago

      Can we wait for the actual contract to be announced before we decide if it’s good or bad?

      3
      Reply
      • mlb fan

        4 years ago

        It will almost certainly be the standard type of “7 million dollar per yr mediocre veteran” contract I am sure….I am not really sure why a team going nowhere wants to pay 7 million a year instead of developing a young homegrown first basemen.

        Reply
        • socalbball

          4 years ago

          Do they have a young homegrown first baseman who will be ready within the next two years?

          2
          Reply
        • mlb fan

          4 years ago

          “do they have a homegrown first baseman”….If they don’t the whole front office should figuratively be lined up against the nearest wall and shot…….First base is the easiest position to fill, largely because slugger, limited one trick ponies like Cron are available pretty much EVERY YEAR(see Nelson Cruz, Juan Encarnacion, Kyle Schwarber, Matt Adams and many others). How about actually acquire a young first base prospect or young player, such as Dom Smith(still plenty young enough to be there 4+ years from now), who seemingly has fallen out of favor with the Mets….The Rockies CLEARLY, have no idea how to run a professional baseball team and are merely throwing things against a wall, desperately hoping that something will stick……….

          1
          Reply
        • Get Off My Mound

          4 years ago

          Boy you really like to use quotations, don’t you? Anyways, your whole argument is based in having too many 1 dimensional sluggers, and your counterpoint is another 1 dimensional slugger in Dominic Smith?

          Reply
        • Lanidrac

          4 years ago

          $7.25M/yr for what Cron provides is still really cheap, and it’s actually pretty comparable to an average rookie 1B making the Major League minimum (and a little more during his sophomore year) on a $/WAR basis.

          Reply
        • MLB Top 100 Commenter

          4 years ago

          Actually this Cron deal is pretty much what I expected, my guess was two years at twelve million. The actual deal is not unreasonable, I am just not sure that the Rockies had much competition in terms of bidding for Cron. Cron had a nice end of the season, had better stats at Coors, but even with the DH, name three other teams where he would definitely start rather than just being in the spring training mix.. Maybe the Pirates, but they would not have spent that much. Toglia could be better or worse, too early to tell, but he’ll be ready by Spring 2024 at whatever level he is capable of reaching.

          1
          Reply
      • Get Off My Mound

        4 years ago

        No, I wont. But, seeing as how the extension is only $14 mil for 2 years, I will repeat. Now, this extension makes sense.

        Reply
  4. syndergaardshair

    4 years ago

    Why are Rockies extending everyone

    4
    Reply
    • laswagn

      4 years ago

      Same reason the Mets extended Syndergaard

      1
      Reply
      • iverbure

        4 years ago

        When did the Mets extend syndergaard?

        5
        Reply
        • dodger1958

          4 years ago

          They will probably QO him. Maybe. He looked really bad in his last outing.

          Reply
        • rct

          4 years ago

          @dodger1958: he gave up three hits and two runs in one inning. I doubt the Mets will even consider that outing when they decide to QO him.

          Reply
    • Travis’ Wood

      4 years ago

      Banking on expanded playoffs

      2
      Reply
    • hiflew

      4 years ago

      Because they have a desire to have players and are not intending to fold as a franchise. What kind of question is that?

      4
      Reply
      • Cap & Crunch

        4 years ago

        Hiflew is correct- This teams playing for gains yearly despite the naysayers, tough as nails Div, uphill battle ( they play at a Coors disadvantage Imo) and hesitancy from half the market (Pitchers) to come to them in FA –

        You gotta admire it in an outside way

        But HiFlew you do gotta understand most people that engage in online forums are probably going to be fast movers/shakers on their keyboards rather than take the line in Col is

        Im not against it tho….its kinda old school, its def different…… different is good most times

        1 thing I do wish tho for the franchise, even as a Div foe to me, is that they had more money to hire some more front office help . That’s going to hurt, especially in todays day and age

        Reply
        • atmospherechanger

          4 years ago

          Cap, if you’re referring to Analytics staffing, apparently the Rox have reinvested in that area. This seemed conveniently left out of the MLBTR write up on Bill Schmidt being named GM.

          “But Schmidt was part of the process that led to the hiring of new research and development director Scott Van Lenten from the Nationals, who has begun a department expansion that will take it beyond previous levels.”

          Thomas Harding mentioned it & a full article was written on the Rockies page about Van Lenten. There seems to be a serious angst against the Rockies by the MLBTR writers and posters.

          Reply
    • solaris602

      4 years ago

      They’re either adverse to making trades or they’ve been told not to make trades. When was the last time they made one? So they’re left with either extending players, claiming them off waivers, or signing free agents.

      Reply
      • Lanidrac

        4 years ago

        Um, they traded Arenado last offseason. Or did you mean non salary dump trades?

        1
        Reply
      • MLB Top 100 Commenter

        4 years ago

        Solaris602, In their defense, it is hard to make a trade when you only have a few players that anyone would want.

        Reply
    • mlb fan

      4 years ago

      “why are Rockies extending everyone”…..Because when you finish a GAZILLION games out of first place, “keeping the band” together takes on added emphasis and you have to remember, this is a front office that traded a top ten MLB player, Nolan Arenado, and all they got back was a back end #5 starting pitcher. The owner of the Rockies is obviously a nutcase.

      1
      Reply
      • JohhnyBets67

        4 years ago

        They’re extending guys like this because the bonehead previous front office has left with them few good players and fewer decent ML ready prospects.

        The Rockies are in one of the worst positions of any MLB team I’ve seen. Is this FO better? They very well may not be. But this is a bad bad team with little hope of anything changing that.

        3
        Reply
        • puigpower

          4 years ago

          Hey, it could be worse. You could be the Pirates.

          1
          Reply
        • JohhnyBets67

          4 years ago

          I’d rather be the Pirates. No payroll tied up to declining crap players and they actually have a good farm system.

          Now the Pirates have an ownership problem but….

          1
          Reply
      • Travis’ Wood

        4 years ago

        Dude you’re way off with this comment. The Arenado trade was excellent for the Rockies. Gomber has more surplus value than Arenado and they got more players on top of that. You trade contracts, not players. You’re looking at this like a fantasy league lol

        Reply
        • mlb fan

          4 years ago

          “The Arenado trade was excellent for the Rockies”…….Yes, it was “excellent” all right, it put the Cardinals in the postseason and the Rockies in their customary place as second division also rans……..You are what your record says you are and the Rockies record in the last 3 years is proof positive that they have no idea at all what they are doing…..

          2
          Reply
        • puigpower

          4 years ago

          Dude, I’ve heard a lot of things but that comment is crazy. They salary dumped their best player.

          1
          Reply
        • Lanidrac

          4 years ago

          Perhaps, but they also had to pony up $51M as well just to dump Arenado’s contract. That puts Arenado’s contract so far underwater for them that it would take something like an entire rotation full of Gombers in return to balance the contract values.

          1
          Reply
        • MLB Top 100 Commenter

          4 years ago

          rols1026 and mlb fan, Actually you are both right. Rockies would have been in fourth place even with Arenado. Arenado went public that he was unhappy so they unloaded him. At that point, the Rockies had few choices. Arenado wanted to play for a competitive team, and for the Rockies to have been competitive, they would have had to go back in time a couple years to make changes. So while the trade was a serious morale damper for their fans and clubhouse, it was only a slight setback for their on-field performance. And if the Rockies had used the salary savings to acquire some young talent, perhaps taking a bad contract along with it, it could have been overall a net even deal. So the bad part is not so much the trade, as failing to spend the salary savings generated by the trade. I suppose there is a small chance that they will use it this off-season to lure Trevor Story, Javy Baez or Corey Seager, but I am not expecting it.

          Reply
  5. willm

    4 years ago

    Happy for CJ! He’s come a long way from being blocked by Albert Pujols in Anaheim.

    3
    Reply
  6. SportsFan0000

    4 years ago

    Where are the salary figures and numbers?!

    Reply
  7. Benjamin101677

    4 years ago

    Makes sense now why they didn’t trade him at deadline

    Reply
    • Deleted_User

      4 years ago

      Not really. He wasn’t going to get this much money as a FA. Would have made more sense to trade him then offer him this contract in the offseason.

      3
      Reply
      • Lanidrac

        4 years ago

        But then who would play 1B next year? Even if they got a couple decent prospects in return, they weren’t going to get a Major League ready 1B in the deal, and since they don’t have such a prospect already, they’d have needed to pick up a 1B in free agency anyway.

        I think they probably did try and trade him at the deadline, but they didn’t get any good enough offers. This new GM then decided he might as well bring him back as a placeholder for a bargain price, since they weren’t going to QO him and needed a 1B for next year anyway.

        Also, he might not have done much better, but I bet he could’ve at least gotten a comparable offer in free agency, by the Rockies themselves even if no one else was truly interested.

        1
        Reply
        • Deleted_User

          4 years ago

          “But then who would play 1B next year?”

          Probably Cron anyway. If the Yankees can sign Aroldis Chapman after trading him the Rockies should have no problem at all doing it with CJ Cron.

          1
          Reply
  8. HalosHeavenJJ

    4 years ago

    It is a good day to be a Rockies player.

    Good for CJ.

    4
    Reply
  9. swinging wood

    4 years ago

    You get an extension! And you get an extension!

    3
    Reply
  10. atmospherechanger

    4 years ago

    Signed a Minor League deal that paid him minimally, had a solid year, then extended with the same club without testing Free Agency. Seems to speak volumes about where he wanted to play.

    Reply
  11. cookmeister 2

    4 years ago

    where’s the dude that thought the Rockies should give Cron the QO?

    1
    Reply
    • Travis’ Wood

      4 years ago

      Lol I remember that guy. What a moron.

      Reply
  12. In nurse follars

    4 years ago

    You need a first baseman or you won’t turn many
    Double plays or routine infield outs.

    Reply
  13. angt222

    4 years ago

    Good for him. Finally gets a payday.

    Reply
  14. amk1920

    4 years ago

    Rockies just fot a far more productive 1B than the Padres for 10x less the cost. Further proving how incompetent Padrss GM is

    3
    Reply
    • tstats

      4 years ago

      Huh never thought I would see the day the Rockies GM beat Preller

      1
      Reply
      • hiflew

        4 years ago

        Why not? In the past 15 years, the Rockies have made the playoffs 4 times…the Padres have made the playoffs once. And they were lucky that 2020 was so short so they didn’t have time to have their patented late season flop and miss out again.

        Preller is not that good of a GM. He is very reminiscent of when Daniel Snyder took over the Redskins. He doesn’t try to build a team, he just collects names. He is like a kid collecting baseball cards.

        1
        Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      4 years ago

      Do you really think that Cron in San Diego is better than Hosmer at Coors? I readily agree that Hosmer was a huge overpay, but I am not prepared to say that Cron is better on a neutral field.

      Reply
      • Deleted_User

        4 years ago

        I’m saying it. Cron is better than Hosmer on a neutral field.

        1
        Reply
  15. kiddhoff

    4 years ago

    Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

    Reply
  16. empirejim

    4 years ago

    Am I the only one here who thinks that Cron could have done considerably better on the open market? 7.5 M doesnt sound like much for the numbers he put up.

    3
    Reply
    • mlb fan

      4 years ago

      “am I the only one”….one dimensional sluggers like Cron are literally the textbook definition of the “7 million dollar mediocre veteran” and there is no reason to decline a 7 million dollar offer when that is also your upside on the free agent market…..CJ is no dummy and yes, I think you maybe the “only one” who feels this one trick pony could have gotten more. That being said, Cron is a good power hitter who could help the right team, but I have no idea how he helps a team headed for the bottom.

      2
      Reply
      • stymeedone

        4 years ago

        Except Cron isn’t one dimensional. He’s solid in the field, hits for power and a respectable average and, as noted, now takes a walk. He lacks speed. With teams in the NL likely getting the DH, there could be demand for players that can be rotated thru DH and play the field. I’m sure the collective bargaining issue influenced his decision not to wait. Bird in the hand. If it was known now that the DH was expanded, I could see him getting up to $10mm per.

        2
        Reply
      • Lanidrac

        4 years ago

        He’s by no means “mediocre” and not that “one-dimensional” either, but alas, teams feel that paying up for defensively-limited, non-elite, starting 1B over 30 isn’t a good investment when cheaper, younger 1B are so easy to find or move to the position from elsewhere on the diamond.

        The Rockies just happen to be one of the rare teams without such an option at the moment, but this new GM also isn’t stupid enough to pay Cron what he’s truly worth if no one else will.

        Reply
    • Travis’ Wood

      4 years ago

      Yes, you are the only one.

      2
      Reply
    • Dorothy_Mantooth

      4 years ago

      Definitely the only one.

      3
      Reply
    • rct

      4 years ago

      I don’t know about ‘considerably’ better, but I do think he’d get something more like $10 million a year over two or three years. $7.5 million a year isn’t a lot in today’s game. Maybe he likes it in Colorado and didn’t want to roll the dice.

      Reply
    • mrkinsm

      4 years ago

      You might be. A month ago I predicted he’d get about 9M$ but only on a 1 year deal.

      1
      Reply
  17. saavedra

    4 years ago

    I like how he completely rakes and still signs for less than a year of Hosmer’s salary. Dumb Preller. #FirePreller

    3
    Reply
    • mlb fan

      4 years ago

      “still signs for less than a year of Hosmer’s salary”……That is but ONE good reason to FIRE San Diego’s AJ Preller. If you find yourself needing about 500 MORE good reasons to FIRE AJ Preller, contact me at mlbfan@yahoo.com

      1
      Reply
  18. Rsox

    4 years ago

    Good for Cron. He won’t have to find his sixth team in six years.

    3
    Reply
  19. prov356

    4 years ago

    I’m glad Cron found a home. Scioscia would never give him enough playing time to develop.

    2
    Reply
  20. davemlaw

    4 years ago

    I like these extensions a lot for the Rockies, they’re headed in the right direction.
    I think the Rox have a very good chance to sign Kevin Gausman this offseason. He’s from Denver, he pitches well there and he has no qualifying offer attached to him. I’ve been told that because the Rox front office is unstable that won’t happen. I don’t know, they seem pretty stable to me.

    Reply
    • weaselpuppy

      4 years ago

      They mean that Monfort is literally -unstable-, because the GM slot has been a puppet for Monfort making bad call after bad call..

      Cron is a good guy, glad he got a deal….would like to see him at DH more and Connor Joe get a full year shot at 1b/OF.

      Reply
    • Rsox

      4 years ago

      Don’t pre-order your Gausman Rockies jersey just yet. Gausman has pitched well for the Giants and they have a ton of money to re-sign him over the winter. The Rockies rarely dip into free agency for starting pitching and with good reason; the last free agent starter the Rockies signed was Kyle Kendrick and though far less expensive than his big money predecessors (Darryl Kile, Mike Hampton, Denny Neagle) Kendrick was terrible for the Rockies

      Reply
  21. Dorothy_Mantooth

    4 years ago

    Where are the fools who thought the Rockies would extend Cron a QO? This is the perfect size (and length) contract for someone like Cron. If they had offered him a QO for $18-$20M for one season, he couldn’t have signed it quicker, but there was no way Colorado was going to offer that to him. Good deal for both sides.

    I’m willing to bet we’ll see a lot of these mid tier players sign extensions now vs. take the risk of waiting for the new CBA to be signed. Take the money now before there are any changes to the CBT or any delays from teams waiting for the CBA terms to be finalized. Hopefully there won’t be a lockout or a strike, but that remains a real possibility.

    Reply
    • Get Off My Mound

      4 years ago

      Pretty sure you’re the only fool here even putting C.J. Cron and a QO in the same sentence.

      1
      Reply
      • mrkinsm

        4 years ago

        No Pete, look up the thread from about a month ago discussing QO’s. There was one guy adamant that COL would give him one – everyone else told him he was crazy.

        1
        Reply
  22. Get Off My Mound

    4 years ago

    C.J. Cron 2021 WAR: 3.4. Senzatela Career WAR: 6.3. Cron’s gotta feel a little jipped.

    Reply
  23. Arnold Ziffel

    4 years ago

    He is decent with the bat, the glove not so much, he is not Dick Stuart with the glove but not the best.

    2
    Reply
  24. sergefunction

    4 years ago

    Not a World Series team, so go ahead and sign a Coors-only Bomber like Cron and give the home fans an occasional show.

    Hit those straight breaking balls and get paid $14.5M. Both sides win.

    Reply
  25. bradthebluefish

    4 years ago

    Dang. Wish the Red Sox could’ve made a similar if not better offer.

    Reply
    • Rsox

      4 years ago

      Sox don’t need Cron. Bobby Dalbec is going to be just fine offensively. And if not Tristan Casas is not that far away

      1
      Reply
  26. Cap & Crunch

    4 years ago

    For years I’ve pointed to one CJ Cron as to why you don’t pay big for a 1b

    Now, I can still do that for 2 more years at least!

    Great Ink

    Rizzo is the next “Oh NO” guy to get overpaid

    Remember when we all called Toronto silly for overpaying Kendry Morales and his non sexy 800 OPS game…Rizzo has a 783 over his last 700 abs dating 2 seasons; yet those 2 recognizable zz’s on the back of his uniform is gonna get him paid like it’s scrabble. Pray its not your team unless your into HBP’s

    1
    Reply
    • Deleted_User

      4 years ago

      Unless your what is into HBP’s?

      Reply
      • MLB Top 100 Commenter

        4 years ago

        RemovePitcher

        HBP is hit by pitches.

        Reply
        • Deleted_User

          4 years ago

          r/whoooooooooosh

          1
          Reply
  27. Dadbodfromseattle

    4 years ago

    I was hoping he would come to the Ms but I didn’t realize how bad his splits were o my…. Thank u rox.

    1
    Reply
  28. LordD99

    4 years ago

    Feels like a slight overspend on both contracts, but also nothing particularly to worry about.

    2
    Reply
  29. KamKid

    4 years ago

    It’s interesting that middle class players getting middle class money seems so absurd for us front office watching nerds. I personally like that guys like Cron, Schoop, Santana are getting these types of deals. But I have to admit that I’m happy when it’s not my favorite team awarding them. As a Toronto fan I could do without Grichuk gumming up the roster.

    Reply
  30. Dusty Baker's tooth pick.

    4 years ago

    Remember when that guy was so sure he was getting a QO no matter how much we told him. He was a real jackass about it too!

    Reply
    • RobM

      4 years ago

      Yeah, who was that guy?

      The Rockies goal was to keep him, and they knew they could sign him for significantly less than a QO, which more than a few people mentioned, yet he still couldn’t wrap him mind around it.

      Reply
      • Deleted_User

        4 years ago

        They could have still kept him even if they traded him. Another team wasn’t going to offer him this contract in free agency and he wasn’t going to punish the Rockies for trading him by signing elsewhere for less.

        Reply

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