The Rockies have made the free agent splash they’d been seeking, announcing on Friday that they’ve signed Kris Bryant to a seven-year contract. Bryant, a client of the Boras Corporation, is guaranteed $182MM on the contract and receives a full no-trade clause as part of the deal. He’ll reportedly receive a $7MM signing bonus and will be paid a $17MM salary this coming season. He’ll then earn $27MM in 2023-24 before earning at a $26MM annual rate from 2025-28.
Bryant will step in as the new face of a franchise that has traded away Nolan Arenado and seen Trevor Story hit free agency over the past two offseasons. It’s the largest free agent investment in franchise history, one that’ll tie the four-time All-Star to Denver through his age-36 season.
Coming into the offseason, few would’ve expected Colorado to make this kind of major splash. The Rockies have finished fourth in the NL West in each of the past three seasons, and they’re coming off a 74-87 showing. Some outsiders have called for Colorado to tear things down and commit to a full rebuild, but ownership and the front office have maintained they don’t view the team as being all that far from contention.
From the outset of the offseason, Colorado has reportedly been targeting a major offensive upgrade to their outfield mix. The Rockies reportedly checked in with players like Kyle Schwarber and Michael Conforto as well, but it became clear in recent days that Bryant was their desired target. Whether they’d spend at the level it took to land him was in question, but owner Dick Monfort has signed off on a seven-year deal with a $26MM average annual value to bring in one of the game’s most recognizable stars.
Bryant, of course, earned that acclaim during his days with the Cubs. The second overall pick in the 2013 draft, he immediately entered pro ball as one of the top prospects in the game. Bryant lived up to those expectations, tearing through the minors for a season and a half. The Cubs delayed his big league debut a few weeks into the 2015 season to push back his path to free agency, but he debuted in mid-April and hit the ground running as a star.
The University of San Diego product hit .275/.369/.488 with 26 homers in his first season, claiming the National League’s Rookie of the Year award. Bryant did strike out at a slightly alarming clip that year, but he significantly improved his contact rate during his second season. The star third baseman hit .292/.385/.554 in 2016, winning the NL MVP and helping the Cubs to a 103-win season and their first World Series title in 108 years.
Chicago never became the multi-year dynasty some fans had expected, but Bryant continued to excel on generally good teams for the next few seasons. He combined for a .284/.390/.511 mark between 2017-19, ranking 17th among position players in FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement over that stretch. Bryant seemed on the path towards a free agent megadeal, but his production plummeted in 2020. During that year’s shortened season, he posted a lowly .206/.293/.351 line over 34 games. What kind of production the Cubs could expect from him — as well as how his free agent market might ultimately shake out — seemed very much up in the air going into 2021.
Bryant didn’t regain his MVP form last season, but he did bounce back from his 2020 downturn. He hit .267/.358/.503 over 374 plate appearances on the North Side. That wasn’t enough to keep the Cubs from a June-July skid that took them out of postseason contention, and it became clear they were likely to move the impending free agent by July 30. Minutes before the trade deadline, the Cubs shipped Bryant to the Giants for prospects Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian. That deal made Bryant ineligible to be tagged with a qualifying offer, so the Rockies won’t forfeit a draft pick to add him.
His production dipped a little bit in the Bay Area. Bryant hit .262/.344/.444 in 212 plate appearances in black and orange. Nevertheless, he hit the market coming off a productive .265/.353/.481 season line. Heading into his age-30 campaign with an MVP pedigree, he looked to have reemerged as one of the top prizes of this year’s class. MLBTR ranked Bryant as the winter’s #4 free agent in November, projecting him to receive a six-year, $160MM guarantee.
Bryant’s actual deal comes in above that mark, as he lands a seventh year and $22MM more, as well as the no-trade protection. Only Corey Seager, who got $325MM over ten years, has received a larger guarantee among free agents this winter. (Carlos Correa and Freddie Freeman still have an opportunity to surpass that mark). The loftiness of the investment perhaps suggests the Rox had to pay a premium to convince Bryant to join a club that’s not a clear immediate contender. For all of ownership’s and the front office’s confidence, Colorado still looks to have a weaker roster than those of the Dodgers, Giants and Padres in a loaded NL West.
There’s also the fact that Colorado’s last two position player superstars haven’t departed the organization on the best of terms. Arenado and the Rockies had a messy fall-out before they traded him to the Cardinals, with Arenado famously saying he’d felt “disrespected” by then-general manager Jeff Bridich. Story, meanwhile, said he was perplexed by the organization’s decision not to trade him at last summer’s deadline; there’s been no indication he’s considered re-signing since hitting the open market.
Bryant and the Rockies no doubt hope their long-term relationship will end more happily. It’s the biggest move yet made by first-year GM Bill Schmidt, who took over baseball operations when Bridich stepped down last April. There’s obviously plenty of risk in any kind of investment of this magnitude, and Bryant’s profile isn’t without some areas for concern.
As mentioned, his 2021 campaign — while a marked improvement over his 2020 numbers — wasn’t a return to peak level. Bryant’s 123 wRC+ was a personal low in any of his six career non-truncated seasons. By definition, that’s still strong work (23 percentage points above the league average offensive output) but it’s not the kind of production that’ll garner MVP support. And Bryant has never had the eye-popping batted ball metrics one might expect from a player who has had so much success.
His 88.2 MPH average exit velocity last season was right in line with the league mark. His average exit speed on balls hit in the air (91.4 MPH) was only a hair above average (90.9 MPH). Bryant fares better in metrics like hard contact rate (40% vs. 35.4% league mark) and barrel percentage (10.3% against a 6.6% league average), but both marks are more good than elite. He’s always drawn a fair share of walks and hasn’t been especially prone to strikeouts since his rookie year, but his peripherals have more closely aligned with a player who ranked 44th in wRC+ last season (out of 135 hitters with 500+ plate appearances) than with a superstar performer.
There’s no question manager Bud Black will pencil Bryant into the lineup on an everyday basis, although precisely where on the diamond remains to be seen. He has primarily played third base in his career, but Colorado has a Gold Glove caliber defender at the hot corner in Ryan McMahon. It seems likely that Bryant will spend the bulk of his time in the corner outfield, at least next season. He has generally rated as a competent defender in the corners, although he didn’t seem comfortable manning Oracle Park’s tricky right field during his couple months in San Francisco. Bryant has a little bit of experience in center field, but he’s never been a regular option there and would be miscast at that position in spacious Coors Field.
However the Rox plan to use him, they’ve made a hefty financial commitment to add some star power to the lineup. The specific financial breakdown has yet to be reported, but Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates that adding a $26MM salary to the books in 2022 would bring the Rox’s player commitments to around $141MM. That’s only a touch below 2019’s franchise-record $145MM Opening Day mark, leaving little room for further additions unless Monfort signs off on an uncharacteristic level of spending.
There’s enough uncertainty on the roster the Rockies would be ill-advised to rest on their laurels now. They’re clearly aiming to return to legitimate postseason contention, and areas like center field and the bullpen remain question marks. Colorado will have to continue to push forward — by expanding payroll beyond Monfort’s previous comfort level and/or dealing from a thin farm system for immediate help — if they’re to seriously make a run at hanging tough in the division. At the very least, though, the Rockies have signaled definitively as ever they view themselves as capable of taking on that kind of challenge — pulling off an agreement few would’ve seen coming sixth months ago.
Jon Heyman of the MLB Network first reported Bryant was signing with the Rockies and the financial terms. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the no-trade protection. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale first reported the contract breakdown (Twitter link).
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Wow.
As Scott Boras says, it only takes one team. Huge pay day for Bryant and he should absolutely rake in Denver. The only question is how long will he be able to take the ineptitude of the Rockies front office until he wants out? I’d love to have heard how the Rockies owner sold him on joining the team. I’m sure he spun quite a yarn about winning 94+ games.
He sold him by saying “One Hundred and Eighty Two Million Dollars!” really clearly.
What a dumb move by an even dumber team. Don’t know what’s more clear as this point, Kris Bryant not wanting to win or the Rockies not having a clue what they’re doing.
Lol. I agree. Bad contract for a bad team
What exactly do you people want from the Rockies? If they trade away players like Arenado, they are stupid. If they let players walk like Gray without a QO, they are stupid. If they let players like Story walk away with a QO, they are stupid. If they keep players like Marquez, they are stupid. If they bring up their prospects, they are stupid. If they sign a former MVP to a huge deal, they are stupid.
How exactly can the Rockies win with some of you people?
Pick a direction and have at it. Rebuild or all in. Not both.
Or you could realize that there are more than just two ways to do things. Life is not always black and white, they is gray as well.
How exactly can the Rockies win with some of you people?
————————————————————————
I don’t know. Maybe by…you know…winning some baseball games.
You mean like going to the playoffs in back to back years in 2017 and 2018? How many teams in the league HAVEN’T been to the playoffs twice since 2017?
This is probably the worst contract of the offseason. Kris Bryant hasn’t been the caliber of player to earn this amount of money in a long time. Bryant’s numbers offensive numbers will surely get better in Coors but it won’t matter because every opposing player’s numbers do, too. The team is so bad that Bryant wouldn’t be able to lift them anywhere near contention even if he were great. Terrible, terrible contract for the team. It looked like the Rockies were finally getting out from under their previous bad spending decisions. Now they do this to start it all over again. If they had this kind of money to spend they would have been better off keeping Arenado and passing on Bryant. This move insures the Rockies will be no better than a 4th place team for the next several years. Probably longer. The Rockies quickest path to contention was clearing the books and starting from scratch. This move is going to make it take even longer to do that. I think the owner just likes to pretend in his head that he believes the roster is good enough to win every offseason but the on field production doesn’t matter. When good players decline he doesn’t mind because he can still pay them a ton of money and just pretend they will become good again. This rebuild should have started years ago and all he’s doing is pushing it off longer and longer. I never thought anyone would give Bryant this much and for the Rockies to do it makes it even dumber.
What you mean you people!!!?
Exactly right. Some fans just want to piss and moan regardless of what the team does!
BTW, the answer is 15 teams haven’t been to the playoffs twice since 2017. Including every other NL West team not named the Dodgers.
What I would if I was a Rockies fan was to have traded at least Gray if not Story as well. Trade Marquez. Definitely not have given that much money to Bryant. At that price might as well kept fan favorite Nolan who I would have never given that extension to.
@hiflew: There are only 30 teams in MLB. So people have to use that very strange and meaningless metric just to make the Rockies seem like an average team? That kind of proves the point.
If Bryant is worth this much, how much is Matt Olson worth? The Braves had to just get the steal of the century even with the prospects they traded if Kris Bryant is worth anywhere close to this kind of cash.
How many Rockies top prospects will it cost to get rid of this albatross in 2-3 years?
More than what it cost them to dump Arenado.
Everyone complains that teams tank and don’t spend any money. Then a last place team spends money and everyone says how stupid they are. Y’all just like to complain about everything I swear.
Yeah, this makes no sense to me. For Bryant or the Rockies. Seems like money is more important than winning, once again!
As far as I can tell, the Rockies do not have an actual plan. Do you see a plan? If so, can you explain that plan so a dummy like me can understand what they are actually doing?
@lemonly: People want teams to be able to realize when they should spend money and when they should rebuild. The Rockies are doing neither. I love the Rockies spending money. They should just do it when it actually might help them win. They should also spend this kind of money on a much better player than Bryant. Expensive does not equal great player in every case. No one thought Bryant was worth this amount of money and for a team who isn’t going to win either way to spend that amount makes even less sense. The Rockies franchise needs to be headed in a different direction.
Money is more important than winning dude. You can’t eat the piece of metal.
@bucsfan
Maybe something like Glasnow, Meadows, and Baz for Chris Archer?
Kris Bryant’s value is in his demeanor and pretty face
All of the above on your points.
You can’t eat money either.
A call went out from Boras Corp. “Hey, any of you guys stupid enough to top Marcus Semien’s contract for Kris Bryant?”
Only one hand raised.
MickeyHammer: Nope. It’s not a dichotomy. There’s room between the two and just because you’re rebuilding doesn’t mean you can’t still try and win some more games now.
@hiflew
No I mean like coming in 4th place for the last 3 years straight with a resounding losing record in each year.
Bryant has a MVP award, a Rookie of the Year award, and a World Series ring, he wanted the big payday and obviously didn’t necessarily care where it came from. Whether or not he wants another ring is speculative at best.
Couldn’t agree more and I’m a Cubs fan – in a 3 yr decline and not going to age great, probably has 2/3 more years at 3B. Don’t understand at all.
Even if Bryant didn’t have a WS ring, he made the right decision unless an actual legit contender was out there at $150M+.
Hiflew, ever hear the phrase “you cant argue with stupid”?
Most of these Johnny GMs didnt even read the article. Headline, first 3 lines, zoom, right to the comments and start spinning “gold.”
“What exactly do you people want from the Rockies?”
Personally, I want them to move to a sea-level ballpark … or stay where they are and join the AL West maybe..? 🙂
The Braves are defending World Series champions with a legitimate chance of repeating. The Rockies are a fourth place team in the beginning of a rebuild/retool?. A player of Bryant’s caliber is going to come at a higher cost for them than a player like Olson to the Braves
Yeah that’s a solid argument. Keep up the great commentary.
U said it right there at the end….just by winning!! Do that and the haters dont matter, but when u r the worst team in a division with 2 100+gamewinners from last year plus another free spending team in the Padres, theres no point in not going all in on a rebuild…both the Rockies and Diamondbacks r just prolonging their agony by not committing fully to rebuilds!!
Can’t argue with a meme. Just enjoy your team and enjoy baseball. We almost didn’t have it!
Let me make it REAL clear, the Rockies ARE stupid. Blaze on boys, blaze on. Ahahahaha!
Jealousy is an ugly emotion. Especially coming from a team that just signed a guy who’s never played in MLB for $90m.
It’s the totality of the moves. They just paid a worse player than the homegrown guy they shipped out. They can’t seem to make good moves consecutively. Any good move they may make is always in between a few bad moves that make the otherwise good move look worse.
Bryant isn’t the guy to carry this team. He can’t be a team’s biggest star to carry the load. They have nothing around him, and they’re in no position to legitimately compete in their division anytime soon. This move, at this time, for this player, doesn’t make much sense for this team.
All this does is delay the inevitable rebuild, while spending resources on a player that will soon tire of losing seasons and become a problem. Costly patches on a sinking ship.
I think teams should sign tons of talent to 1, 2 maybe 3yr deals when they aren’t competitive to fill holes and maybe if they catch lightning in a bottle (your 2021 Giants folks) they’ll be MUCH better than expected. If they aren’t competitive, they have a ton of chips to deal at the deadline to rebuild the system. They shouldn’t sit out free agency by any means, but they shouldn’t sign a mega deal either. Money locked up in a player that may decline long before a core is built around him.
They can’t trade him, he signed a full no trade clause
Yes you can the Rockies eat about 50 million just to get rid of Arenado and won that trade btw.
@Nebraska – Nobody predicted it? MLBTR predicted $160/6, a higher annual value with 1 less year.
Everyone’s right, these top paid players should only sign with 6 or 8 teams, smh.
Mikey: It’s possible to build a winning team without suffering through a period of terrible-ness. It’s a myth that losing is a prerequisite for future winning. Plus, in terms of rebuild, they just signed a potential future trade chip.
Spend too much on a single Luke warm player that won’t do anything for their team but sell some tickets before the Broncos open training camp.
He’s the PERFECT Denver model. A player to put on billboards and sell some tickets before the Broncos open training camp. Business decision not baseball.
But what’s wrong with that? Why not make the team just a bit more entertaining? It won’t hurt the future a bit.
Sell tickets and help them win an extra game or two. It IS a baseball decision. And good for the fans.
Bridich left the team a mess. They had top 10 minor league system, now towards the bottom, traded one of the best players in baseball and gave 50 million for the pleasure, paid Desmond but not DJ, spent 100 million on 3 relievers that never finished their contract.
I won’t get mad at teams that spend money on their team but there’s a difference between spending and spending wisely.
Sounds like Kris went for the money knowing a championship is not likely while in CO.
Well…. by NOT being stupid. Do you think this was a wise move?
I mean, the Cubs offered him $210-250 million 2 years ago. I know millions are millions but two years ago, the Cubs were at least in the discussion of contending.
Steve, I 100% agree with you. Rockies management makes me scratch my head. If I’m wrong I’ll admit it but this is a ridiculous contract and I don’t think he’s worth it. I think it will blow up in the faces. What % of your payroll now?
I’m a huge Cubs fan but Bryant lost money he was offered more to stay with the Cubs
They can win with the fans when they start winning some games.
@hiflew Presumably by not being stupid?
i guarantee it was the NTC. KB has made it very clear that he wanted to find one team, and then settle his family down. He hated the trade rumors and speculation. it was important for him to sign a deal that would keep him in one place.
posters who don’t have spouses and children tend to take a narrow view on what impacts player decisions
Might take 2 seasons to win 94 games…
Pretty sure the Cubs offered him more,like $210-250, two years ago with at least a slightly better chance to win. Also kinda shows you what the rest of the league thinks of him if nobody beat a Rockies offer. He has more accolades than Baez and Baez got close to the same thing.
YESSSSSSS. I finally got one right in the MLBTR Free Agent Prediction contest!
this one holds some weight too — don’t think many saw it coming! haha
Wow is right. Terrible contract. Rockies doing Rockies things…
Holy Cow! There goes another suitor. What team is going to show me the money???
In before anyone attributes his stats to the Coors Field effect…
I thought his 900 ops day’s were over. Nope he’s back baby.
Why
There are a 182 million reasons why.
Joe – Exactly! He already has his Rookie of the Year, an MVP and a World Series ring. Now he has the megacontract. He also lives pretty close to home. The guy is livin’ the dream. Let him be.
I’m confused, Jerry. Bryant has homes in Chicago and Las Vegas. Which home is close to Denver?
Chance to pad those stats for a potential HOF bid. With the initial resume it is possible.
The new mansion that he can build anywhere he wants.
Las Vegas
The whole “play close to home” thing os kind of overrated unless it’s a hometown. You’re an airline flight away and can even lease a private jet if you have to see home.
Las Vegas is a 748-mile drive from Denver and an hour and 40 minutes by air. I don’t think he’ll be heading to the Grand Lux Cafe at The Venetian for a quick breakfast.
Fink – They are about the same. He may very well settle in Denver. It appears he will be spending a lot of time there. Thanks for the question.
You card.
182 Million good reasons for Bryant. For Colorado? Fair question.
No idea for Colorado. They just traded Arenado to get out of a bad contract. Only to get into another one?
Bryant is $10m/yr cheaper, a year younger, and they got 4 young players, 2 of whom look really good. That’s why.
This perfectly explains why we had a lockout!! Smfh…..some of these owners belong in front of a firing squad!!
Ummm. The Cubs offered him $210-250 in 2020. So he could at least take more money and get out sooner with at the time a contending team.
Stop with this constant “cubs offered more money” nonsense. Have we all forgotten what Rizzo said last year that there was a reason why Baez, Bryant and himself hadn’t re-signed? Wasn’t Bryant also ticked off about service time manipulation from them
@TheLawAbides
You’re right. Thanks for reminding me Baez and Rizzo also turned down more money from the Cubs. And if you also remember what Bryant said the service time manipulation was not a big deal for him because all the teams do it.
Rizzo or (Bryant) said the Cubs had enough money to keep all the players but they scoffed at legitimate offers for more money. They clearly just didn’t want to come back. At least Rizzo signed with a contender.
Don’t get me wrong they needed to move on. They got too complacent and weren’t hacking it anymore. But out of the 3 to return I wanted Rizzo to go back to the Cubs the most.
And sorry for replying to different people who were asking about why sign Bryant’s contract with the Rockies. But most people don’t read every comment like you do. Just replies to their own comments. 3 Comments is hardly “contestant”, especially when replying to other people.
Have a good week.
*”Constant”
Why do people think service time manipulation is a bad thing? Ownership is allowed to use whatever advantage they have in the contract agreed to by both parties. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s a sound strategy and half the time the player really isn’t ready anyway (Kelenic).
The quality of the schools.
– Mike Hampon
Just to get traded in 2 years?
To get payed, then get traded.
Full no trade clause…
After winning 65 and 70 games I bet he waives the NTC
You think he’ll wait two years?
I think this might be the first ever someone signs a 9 figure contract and is traded at the deadline in the same year I wish I was kidding.
Rockies would have to eat salary. I think he’s overrated but I’ve been in the minority about that. Gotta say with the Arenado and Story moves I don’t get Rockies management
@Oh Boy
Maybe not, he might just Votto that thing.
He is overrated. There is no argument. A very good player however no longer an impact player.
3/60m for Bryant would have been an overpay. 3 win 30 year old who’ll be out of baseball in 4 years? This is pure derangement.
Probably inb4 that was updated
metsfan1992: If you ACTUALLY READ the article you’d notice that he has a FULL NO TRADE CLAUSE.
@prospectnvstr
Nolan arrenado had a no trade clause too if I remember correctly. He will be begging to leave in 2 years. A no trade clause means nothing for this team.
The Rockies only did that once, and this is the guy they wanted all along over Arenado anyway. In fact a straight up Bryant-for-Arenado swap was the only other hypothetical of note (that was reported) when he was traded.
No reason to even care with that deal.
……. Why?
Desperate times call for depserate signing
He had a better offer from the Cubs. Smh. Oh well. Stubbornness had no limits.
At some point, when no contender is offering, you just take the money.
no one was going to offer that much
He’s got a ring so take the generational wealth
His kids are set for life now(twin boys on the way in July)
I go to Denver every year anyway. Now I have 1 more reason to go. Unfortunately even though a bad Rockies team tix will skyrocket. I was just looking at Dodgers @ Rockies. The cheapest tix are 25$ in the third deck. There’s always standing room I guess. It is the Dodgers too so who knows
Exactly play the game to win a ring (and he did) and get paid big money (and he did) he is going to be just fine.
You aint lyin
As we’ve seen over and over (especially this off-season) free agents don’t care whether they’re being courted by a “contender” or not. Semien, Seager, Baez, Schwarber, Suzuki, none of them cared. It’s all about the top offer and secondarily the city. The Rockies obviously made the top offer to KB, and he loves the interior West and Denver’s a great city. Deal done.
Except Brandon Belt. He took a QO and I believe he would have taken a short deal for more than that
Thing is, probably no team offered even half this contract to Bryant. It’s not like the choice was balanced on a knife’s edge.
love this! go Rockies
He was probably told “we’ll be competitive”.
100%
And, of course, it’s ridiculous.
Biff, he was probably told, “you and your children’s-children’s-children are all going to be fabulously wealthy.”
Fantasy stock just shot through the roof!
Wow, if only they were a little bit more lucky, they could have a 3B like Nolan Arenado too!
It’s almost as if they could’ve kept a better player (Arenado) and just signed him to this ridiculous contract. The Rockies make no frickin sense
I don’t follow the Rockies much, but is it possible it was Arenado who wanted out?
Arenado wanted out after it became clear the ownership was BSing him about being committed to winning.
Upside for the Rockies is, they could recycle the same speech they used to lie to Arenado to convince Bryant to take their money and lose 90 games for a couple of years before he Bryant bails out.
I think those saying “they could have kept Arenado instead” are kinda forgetting that part I guess. Sounds like he wanted out and they accommodated him. Bryant knows what he’s getting himself into.
% agree! Not worth it
First of all he’s not a better player. Or not anymore. And more importantly, he costs $10m less per season and the Rockies got four good young players, including two who look like impact major leaguers, in the deal. Couldn’t have worked out better.
Arenado is a significantly better player than Bryant.
Wow, that sucks.
Now I’m certainly taking the over on 94 wins!
That will surely make them a 75 win team!!! Money well spent.
Is winning a few more games a bad thing? Isn’t this what we WANT teams to do? Then we complain when they do it.
cuz they do it in the stupidest way possible?
If you don’t like the particulars of this contract, fair enough, I don’t. But some here seem to be against the idea of a non contending team spending big at all. If I’m an owner, I’d feel an obligation to put a more entertaining product on the field every season. 75 wins with a big star is better than 70 without him.
Be cool when they sign that big star. They just might have won the 1989 off-season with this signing.
This is not the signing that makes them better. What hole does it fill, a third batter in the lineup? They need far more pieces with that money and he’ll get walk a 100 times this season. The Rockies have no concept on how to build a winning organization and they prove it with every move. This move is just a bone they’re throwing their fans snd Bryant will happily waive his NTC after 200+ losses over the next 2 seasons.
#22 rated farm
@Cosmo#2
I don’t want them to win any of their games. Unless they’re playing the Dodgers of course, then I want them to win all of their games. Fair is fair.
They might loose all 18 against the Dodgers this year.
Loose and lose are not the same. Lose is the word you wanted to use here.
It’s not just about winning. It’s about giving your fanbase something to root for. Not every restaurant is 4 stars, but it’s nice to have some good food every once in awhile.
That’s a lot of & for a steak at Applebee’s
Haha. Good comment.
Denver isn’t a baseball town…thus theyre happy to cheer players like this and hope to win sometime. Denver is a 3 month baseball city. May-Broncos.
@Dock_Elvis Tell me you don’t live in Denver without telling me you don’t live in Denver
This is a good move on Bill Schmidt’s part and hopefully a sign that they are committed to re-building a winner. I’m pretty sure 90% of the commenters here don’t know the quality of our starting rotation which is what we need to carry us. I would have loved to have kept Nolan but he’s gone and at least Gomber looks legit. I still would keep Story but if he he’s too hurt by how they handled Nolan’s situation then I understand and wish him well.
I would have jumped at signing Shwarber for the contract the Phillies got him for and added Bryant and felt pretty decent about winning 85-90 games, so with this move I think we’re right at about a .500 team. All I care about is fielding competitive baseball team so hopefully this is a step in that direction, but I’d like to see one more move, preferably Story coming back.
Rockies making a strong case for worst front office in professional sports.
Reds…Rockies…two losers enter…one loser leaves!
at least the reds are clear in their message to fans: we don’t wanna win and we are gonna field the cheapest team possible.
the rockies, though, send more mixed messages than you and your ex combined.
The Giants probably put a limit of 4/$80m on him. Taylor got 4/$60m because he’s a year older and doesn’t have the pedigree Bryant does. I don’t blame him one bit for taking the $$$, but the Rox need some star power.
I think the Dolans take the cake for that in the New York Knicks.
Just when you think you have the Rockies organization figured out… actually scratch that, no one ever thinks they have the Rockies figured out.
The Rockies don’t even have the Rockies figured out.
Not gonna bash a team for trying though; good for them, spending money, giving the fans a star to see. But the fact that they gave away Story and Gray last year for absolutely nothing still makes it hard to understand what these people are thinking about competition
2024 off season – Rockies trade Kris Bryant for John Doe, John Smith, I.C. Weiner, Izheet Medrawers, and Hiduh Sulami
They’ll never get Medrawers and Sulami for Bryant.
What if we add I.P. Freely and Oliver Klozoff instead?
The Rockies would change his name to I.P. Millions.
What about for Jenna Tolls, Jack Mehoff and Haywood Jablome?
Strong package. Will they throw in Seymour Butts as well?
Should have insisted on Dan Glesac and Barry McCockiner being part of the deal.
I doubt they could pry Weiner away. Besides, they already have Hugh G. Rection rising through the minors.
I think that Suq Madiq might also be involved too? I hear he’s pretty good
Guys, guys, guys! You know it will only take Mike Hunt.
Player to be named later – Gabe Athouse
Rockies will also pay $50 million in that deal.
Lower than what he was seeking. Think the Cubs offer of an extension was over 200M+ or 250M depending on the source.
I don’t think they ever offered him an extension. It was just the talking heads talking s***
No they offered him close to 250, boras and co thought he was being lowballed. I love kb, always will, but he shld have taken that offer. I know he got his ring but the Rockies? Wtf are they even doing trading in story for kb on a yearly dumpster fire
Now, the offer is up to $250M. I guess we’ll never know.
The Rizzo offer is believable. But I can’t recall seeing a sourced extension offer for Baez or Bryant other than rumors on a comment board.
Well said Donny….Bryant has repeatedly been quoted that he never received a $200M offer from the Cubs. By the end of the thread I’m sure it will be over $300M though.
And how about Rizzo turning down the 5yr 70 mill the Cubs offered last year?
Well, Rizzo has not optimized his financial situation twice now, but he’s doing all right and there is a chance he’ll get paid if he opts out after a good season this year.
I looked up the KB extension offer. It was in 2018 for “well north of $200 million”. But KB made $50 million with the Cubs after that. Add that to the $182 million from the Rox and he’s in the ballpark of that offer.
I think he wasn’t in a position to optimize his first deal. He had no track record yet. Just a lot of potential at that point.
I guess he dosent mind loosing for the rest of his career
Or losing, either.
Ask Joey Votto about that. And I say that with zero disrespect for his choices or priorities. By all accounts, he’s an awesome dude, and I’d be happy if he ever got a ring in Cinci.
If by losing you mean he’s getting $182 million to do it. Then, he’s losing.
I don’t think the addition of Bryant will make a difference in the standings for COL, but I have to give them credit for making a bold move.
Colorado fans will love Bryant. He can play infield or outfield, he hits, and he hits for power, and, not least of all, seems like a genuine nice guy. He plays the game the right way. I’m a Sox fan, but I can say without reservation that I really enjoyed watching him play with the Cubs. I hope he hits a million in Colorado and helps the team crack the Dodgers stranglehold on the division, last season not withstanding.
realsox — As a Giants fan I can say that he seems to be a very good guy and I know we were lucky to have him play for us last season. His defense can be a little below average depending on the position, but he’ll hit in Coors and Rockie fans will have someone to root for. Not much else.
He’s not gonna lift this team out of the cellar, and I’m surprised that he was won over by the No-Trade Clause, which is what I guess closed the deal.
The Rockies front office has no idea what it’s doing and laying out a 7-year contract of this magnitude now—when they have no chance to compete—is ludicrous.
But I wish Kris well.
I agree. He seems like a really solid guy. I worry about going from the (old) Cubs and Giants organizational cultures of class and commitment to winning to the disfunction of the Rockies. I do give them credit for spending the money so their fans have a good player to watch.
So they basically traded Trevor Storey for Kris Bryant…not sure this was the smartest move by the Rockies, so guess time will tell
Clealy he doesn’t care about winning anymore. 7 years is a bad contract for Colorado.
He already won a ring. So now its all about money.
And padding his career stats at Coors for the HOF bid
Right. He should sign with the Braves for the league minimum.
Now the Rockies think they have a chance in the NL West,ok
You’re criticizing them for improving?
They always had a decent offense it the pitching that will be their down fall
Their offense has been the WEAKNESS for the past couple years. Their starting pitching has been very strong. Bullpen still is weak, but the offense has been horrible the past 3-5 years.
In today’s game it makes no sense to be a middle class team. You either are a playoff contender or building a farm system. Signing a star when you’re not a playoff contender is a waste of money.
Who’s is a waste of money for? If our focus should be on the farm system which is full of guys who won’t be making real money for another 6-8 years then why not fill out your current roster with higher priced FA’s to hopefully shorten the gap to contention.
I really hope for his sake there’s some opt outs
None.
Groovy baby!! He will rake at Coors Field
It’s a good signing
Who are you? Austin Powers?
Who does # 2 Work for?
that’s right you show that turd who’s boss!
Just sat down. Cool.
Insane contract for a declining player.
He’s not declining he’s actually a terrific player. Insane contract for a place team to make. This moves them from 4th place to 4th place with a a couple dozen more meaningless homers
Who says it’s not about the money.
Anyone think he’d take that if it came from Pitt? And was the only offer of that size.
Ok, he got more years from the Rockies. But why would the Rockies want him considering they have the 26th ranked farm system?
But this could also be strategy from the MLBPA. Get the most years you can
We constantly complain about bad teams not spending and tanking. This is an example of a bad team spending. I think the general tone will be negative to this signing but don’t we want all teams trying to compete? The Rockies trying to thread a needle to get to 85 wins is a whole lot better than accepting 70-92 and not spending. Good for them.
Great point. Their front office is baffling, but you’ve got to give them respect for trying to compete (in their own odd way).
That being said, Bryant is a good to very good but not great player who probably belongs in right field now. I think the idea of him being that superstar he looked to be a few years ago has passed but 81 games year in Coors sure rockets him up those fantasy rankings though.
Spending and spending wisely are not the same thing.
oh absolutely. But I would rather teams spend in strange possibly unwise ways than pocket cash.
“oh absolutely. But I would rather teams spend in strange possibly unwise ways than pocket cash.”
Why do you care? It doesn’t matter if the payroll is $5 or $500M…the costs of tickets, concessions, and TV providers won’t change. The money’s not going to me (or you). The Rockies aren’t winning much with or without Bryant, so why do you care where the money goes?
I was agreeing w you. I am all for them spending Dick Monfort’s money on actual talent. I doubt it is the best baseball move but whatever.
This has more to do with a bad team spending its money poorly and not getting any better. A team like the Rockies spending nearly $200M on Kris Bryant is just foolish, both for the team and the player. This type of “spending” would be similar to the Pirates giving Zack Greinke $50M and saying, “Look, we’re spending money!” Sure, they’re spending but is it wise?
Can’t have it both says Tom……
When they don’t spend the fans on here complain. When they do spend the fans complain.
If you read MLBTR comments enough you’ll see that most posters complain about what most teams do. If the team wins they complain that what the FO, manager and players did was no big deal….anyone could have done it.
I just don’t sew this as trying to compete unless it’s attached to some other roster improvement. Business decision on the surface.
Visions of Mike Hampton dancing in my head (with apologies to Dan O Dowd).
Over/under 2 years before he gets traded?
Full NTC
Well over. Full No Trade clause.
Born in Vegas and Boras is his agent. These are the whys.
The whys are 7 years
The whys are the NTC.
I just never understand the Rockies. This move makes no sense to me
Real good player, but that’s an overpay.
I could be missing something but kind of seems like a slap in the face to Arenado.
Especially with the no trade clause
Why? Arenando got his payday. The Rockies gave him 260M several years ago.
Like the Rockies think KB is the superior hitter. Just my first thought.
If they thought he was a superior hitter, they’d have offered more than Arenando. Plus they’re still paying part of his salary. And they gave Arenando a full no trade clause in his contract too, along with some opt outs.
Traded back to the Giants in two years…
Full no trade. Just like their last third baseman.
Padres – they have to be in every rumor. It’s the law or something…
Trevor Story next?
He isn’t coming back
Well that’s boring
We’re living in the wrong timeline.
I think this is the most reasonable explanation at this point.
My Phils are the big winners now getting Schwarber for 4 years $80M
You’re not wrong
Keep in my Schwarber is a DH. And Phils should know how well big sluggers age. I think they’re both overpays tbh.
3 fewer years and less than half the money? I’ll take Schwarber too.
Hahhaahhaaha what a joke!
Rockies GM this afternoon after smoking a split
Should have kept Nolan Arenado
Their management is among the worst in mlb
Someone said that Bryant would play for who paid him most with no regard for the quality of the team he signed with. I argued that he would only sign with a good team.
I was wrong.
Least you admit it
Talk about overpaying a player.
KB is gonna look sexy in purple
WS ring, MVP, RoY. Now gets to cash out and DH later in his career at Coors Field. Smart move by Bryant. Rockies are getting better and are better with him today than they were yesterday.
Rockies could’ve been better by adding Bryant Chris. Not saying much.
Baseball is more fun when stars are on good teams. Wanted to see him go to philly or chi Sox
Yuck.
It all started with mike Hampton …….
This is probably why Freeman is holding out. MLBPA is telling guys to get the most years you can
Well he’s already got his ring so I can’t blame him for chasing the money…
The organization hasn’t learned to swim and is just diving into the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Have fun with that deal. Such a shame to know this one great player will play out his days for a paycheck on a garbage team.
Until they eat 50m to move him in a couple years.
Valid point. Curious to hear the logic behind shedding a superior 3B in Arenado and letting Story walk without a fight, but then bouncing back into mega-contract territory. While having a mediocre farm system and nothing of note on the existing roster. Just baffling.
Please look at Arenado’s numbers outside of Coors and then look at Bryant’s. Arenado hit .255 last year. He isn’t the same guy when he isn’t there. And if the opposite effect happens here, watch out
He’s not the same hitter when he’s not there, but he was still more valuable than KB was.
What are they doing ? Lol
7 years 182 million
The Rockies are the most oddly run organization in all of sports.
Few years back, they did nothing but sign relievers. Thought they were up to something smart, all of them turned out bad though. Lol
That so many Rox fans attend those games is an utter mystery to me.
If I lived near a ballpark that didn’t break the bank, I’d be there all the time, regardless of allegiance. Love baseball. Sadly, I live near Wrigley Field where I’d have to sell a kidney to be able to attend daily.
Bleacher seats were as cheap as $1.50 (stood in line for open seating anywhere too) when I grew up in Chicago in the 70’s – box seats $8.00 – I live in Colorado now, go to Rockies regularly ($3.00 Centerfield Rock pile open seating) win or lose I’m there whenever I have a day off in town – the only thing I ask for from the Rockies is get rid of the humidor baseballs and lets get our field advantage back – slug the rest of teams Blake Streak Bombers style. Colorado is a real fact of baseball – for almost 30yrs – it’s time we scared the entire league again and draw 4-million fans annually
While they play different positions the Yankees got the same offensive production in Rizzo for a steal compared to this lol
IF Rizzo gets the vaccination, otherwise he misses 90 games
If you are willing to spend like this why not just pay Nolan? This team makes no sense, man…
Trade Arenado… let Story go… okay let’s pony up and get Bryant… wtf
AND pay $50 million to St. Louis for the PRIVILEGE!
but why?
He already hit his ring, now he gets his money and can pad his stats in Colorado to get into Cooperstown
Oh I meant from the Rockies’ perspective. Good for Bryant to get his big paycheck.
So… Are we gonna hear Rox fans trash KB and claim Nolan Arenado is much better or is the tone going to change now.
Either way… Good deal for KB, he gets paid and goes to a hitting friendly environment.
Hmmmm, I wonder if the Padres will sign someone? Who is left? Suzuki? Why is he waiting so long? Freddie Freeman? Maybe a shortstop? Ooh, that might get juicy. Fernando Tatis Jr. will be on the injured list for quite some time. I think moving Tatis to the outfield would really make things a lot easier for SD.
Suzuki signed with the Cubs this morning. There’s still Freeman, Story and Castellanos.
Wow I guess money is everything
Ian Desmond flashbacks
Kris Bryant is 20x the player Desmond was
20x? Try again, miss.
One is MVP caliber, the other is Ian Desmond
Wow they’re totally different players… Desmond couldn’t take a walk and was way closer to a 2-outcome hitter (HR or K) than KB.
KB was about a .285 hitter with the Cubs… He might turn into a .300 hitter playing 81 games at Coors.
It has a full no trade clause ? OMG LOL
playoffs are expanding.. dont have to be much better than .500 to get in. Maybe some other mashers will now have a reason to join. I like it.
Well, it’s still a better idea than Ian Desmond, first baseman was..
That one still baffles me.
Can’t hate a guy for wanting to up his stats and get paid for it. Congrats, KB…don’t spend it all in one place!!!
That is a brinks truck full of benjamins.
Good for Bryant. His BP sessions in Denver will be epic.
I have no idea why Colorado thought this was the one move to make, but hey it is their money.
7yr 182 no wonder he took that offer and ran to Colorado. Good for Bryant. Have no idea what the Rockies are doing though. Trade Arenado a couple years ago or last year, (whenever it was) then bring in Bryant. Musical chairs, same results. He’s great regardless, in that ball park though he might put up some crazy numbers.
LOL
I think the NTC is overkill. No one is touching this deal
That’s more than I feel he’s worth, but good to see other teams spend.
It’s far more than he’s worth. I like seeing teams like the rockies spend too but wouldn’t be surprised if the next best offer was more like 5/115.
Harper is somewhere having a fit lol
Nahh..he’s giving noogies to Schwarbs right now.
Wow, this doesn’t bode well for Bryant HAHAHHA
It bodes well for him but not his current team
Phillies deal with Schwarber now looks even better.
Schwarbers deal is right in line with what I expected. This was an gross overpay even by the rosiest projections.
Well it is Denver. Lack of Oxygen, but Kris is cashing in.
Why? Pick a lane rockies. You had a path when you said bye bye to nolan….yet this puts you right back to where you were. Spending big bucks on a sub-par team. Bryant is not a better bat than story or arenado. This makes absolutely no sense.
Bryant at Coors is a MUCH better bat than story and will probably be better than Arenado and his .255 hitting ass next year as well.
On a team that will struggle to win 70 games. Total waste of money.
Wrong Bryant can’t hit or even come close to fielding better than Arenado.!
I was wondering why there had been little talk on him. If they came at him in the vicinity of this early and he compared around, no wonder nobody else was in on him. Guy is good, borderline great when healthy, but hope they intend more moves, or he’s going to have to deal with losing. I had just wondered elsewhere if the BoSox might reach out to him since their other supposed interests had signed, but no way were they going in the ballpark of this, nor would I have wanted them too. I never have a problem with a team trying to add talent to hopefully compete, but not sure this really gets the Rockies in the vicinity.
Deal deal includes No Trade clause. This is a huge move for the Rockies. Former GM Jeff Bridich soured the relationship with Arenado. Hopefully new GM, new start.
What cracks me up is all the “should have kept Arenado” talk and “huge overpay” nonsense. KB has a higher lifetime OPS than Correa does, and Correa wants over 300 million lol. Yes he plays great defense (when it’s a contract year) and has played more than 110 games twice in his career (one being a contract year of course). Bryant will absolutely rake at Coors. It probably won’t help a ton though but him and Veen in a couple of years will be a whole lot of fun to watch!
I hear that the Phillies signed Schwarber
You would be correct.
Kris Bryant hits towering fly balls.. Whereas in most stadiums those will result in long outs. In Coors Field he will likely put up huge numbers. He has the swing that is perfect for Coors.
Boy. What a boneheaded organization the rockets are. That’s 26mm a year for KB. What a poorly ran baseball team.
Yes I get not wanting to tank and compete but man is this team need a reality check
You think kris Bryant is going to be hapyywith all the losing? After 2 or 3 yrs. what do you think Arod wanted a trade 20 yrs ago?
I meant to say Rockies
this is actually a pretty good fit. it’s just the Rockies are so incompetent that this will undoubtedly turn out bad for them.
wonder if their fans will ever get tired of this or if they really just enjoy going to games. It’s a nice city and a nice stadium. They’ve traditionally had solid ticket sales but never been a real powerhouse. Bryant is a star and hopefully keeps them coming through the door. Maybe they’ll figure out how to win in that park sooner or later
Did anyone pick this? Clearly it’s about being closer to home.
I guess if Bryant stays healthy, he’ll make the Hall like Larry Walker did.
I think its clearly more about getting a pay day he wasn’t going to come close to anywhere else than even being close to home.
Yeah, that too. Absolutely surprising. I’m not sure why this move for the Rockies after trading off Arenado and losing Story any day now. Complete surprise.
All the Rockies need now is Freddie Freeman
Dear goodness. Freddie may bat .400 in that park. He and Bryant may both hit 50 HRs.
Jubilee3333 — Maybe that’s Dick Monfort’s plan. But if he doesn’t get Freddie and he doesn’t improve every other position as well as his pitching staff, his plan aint gonna work. This team will be a bottom feeder for a long, long time. But I’ll root for Kris.
Not a bad signing, less money and years then Arenado with some versatility with Bryant, I like it.
Great move for both the Rockies and Bryant! The Rockies great one of the stars in the MLB while Bryant is closer to home.
Bryant> Arenado. Plays multiple positions with skill, great bat, great person. Has more World Series rings than Arenado will Ever have. Good for him.
No faith in the Cardinals winning it all?
Finally free agency is picking up,
Honestly, it is a bit odd, but I can’t help in admiring the way the Rockies run things. I feel like as fans, we’re so used to seeing teams either tearing it all the way down or in “go for it” mode for a couple years. Nice to see a club threading the needle a bit, going out there and getting their guy.
Threading what needle? This is not how you build a winner when you only have one terrific player and the rest of the roster is meh.
So Freddy Freeman at 6/156 looking pretty good now lol Only the Rockies!
Rockies lookin’ like contenders, now!
If it’s a 7 year deal, it runs through his age 37 season, not his age 36 season. MLBTR should correct this info.
He just turned 30 this year so the 2028 season, last year of the contract, he’d be 36.
While the $$ is insane I think there’s more to it than that. He has a ring, MVP, and ROY..already has generational money..perhaps he is looking at an easier path to HOF with 7 yrs of Coors Field in his future? Also an outside shot of being the guy that brought a WS to Colorado ( 7 yrs is a long time things change).
As a Kris Bryant owner in two dynasty leagues I couldn’t be happier. That said, he is in for a long 7 years
That’s ok, he’s laughing all the way to the bank and then to cooperstown
Kris ‘One Ring Is Enough For Me’ Bryant.
So Arenado has 6 years left on his deal with $177 million left to be paid, plus Colorado paid his entire $35 million salary to play for St. Louis last season, so tack that on as a sunk cost. Colorado turns around and signs Bryant for $182 over 7 years. They are basically the same age and so how does it make sense to dump Arenado and sign Bryant? They must see some extra value from Bryant that I don’t see. Is the extra age-37 season that valuable to them? It must be challenging for Rockies fans to follow the logic.
Not defending this signing, but they didn’t “dump” Arenado. He pretty much demanded to be traded.
And now that we have a better idea of the prospect return we got for Nolan, if your going to continue to bring up the $50M then you also need to mention Gomber in the return. It’s only fair
This doesn’t make any sense for the Rockies. Why did they trade a franchise player for 60 cents on the dollar and keep part of his contract only to turn around and give a huge contract to someone who plays the same position?
The said player didn’t want to play for the Rockies any more. So they traded him. Are you saying they should have forced the unhappy player to stay?
Rockies are using too much of that product Colorado legalized. Got nothing for Gray or Story at the deadline, paid Arrenado to leave, now this… I guess they figure they’re not gonna win anything anyway, might as well put a Chicago face on the billboards to sell tickets to everyone fleeing the state of Illinois
Seems like they really came flying in at the last minute. We were reading exciting rumors in Seattle during and post lockout that it was “a done deal.” Don’t think Jerry was going north of $150 for Kris and Colorado blew everything up desperate to grab themselves a marketable star.
Cubs offered “well over 200M” in 2018. Rizzo, Bryant and Baez all turned down better offers than they ultimately accepted. Cubs fans were pretty indignant about the cheap FO & Ricketts at the time.
Now they just need to sign Conforto and Correa and not make the playoffs.
Lol
Cubs offered $200m in 2019.
Both Rizzo and Bryant left money on the table.
Amazing that the Cardinals have not signed Trevor Story for long term; and trade DeJong for starting pitching (durable #4 or #5 starter, innings eater).
Lol. You ain’t getting a #4 or #5 for Dejong.
Further proof that this is just a business. Enjoy that one ring, Kris.
And he can pad his stats to get in the HOF
Thought for sure the Rockies would get Freeman that would have just been awesome, well he’s still not signed to this point do it!
Bryant will put up some crazy numbers in Colorado before he’s traded in a couple seasons.
Yeah, like 110 walks, assuming he plays once they are 15 games out.
Possibly. But they will be empty numbers. Expect many 7th inning solo shots when the Rox are trailing 6-2. It’s Bryant’s specialty. Low expectations and no pressure , could be a perfect fit for Bryant.
THANK YOU JERRY !! FOR avoiding this potential albatross contract. Go Mariners.
A “star third-baseman”? Hardly. He stinks at 3b. That’s why he’s been playing outfield, not because of his so-called versatility.
What a waste…you’d think you’d want to go to a contender.
I am not sure why this a bad deal. I am a Mariner fan I want Seattle to sign him and expected it to be around 25 million a year and so did everyone. So is the problem with it being 7 year or is it the money.
The problem for me is it’s a waste of talent. The M’s would have been a contender with Bryant with the team they have.
I really wanted the Mariners to get him (despite being a Red Sox fan), but they were smart to not give him this contract. 6/$160 is the maximum I would have paid for Bryant.
Phillies looking a little smarter tonight…
The Phillies are going to look like geniuses in two years, when the Rockies decide they can’t afford Bryant, and pay Philly $50M to take the contract.
Gross.
Happy for Him but that’s signing up to never compete for a championship
This guy wont be sniffing the playoff anytime soon. Maybe the whole entire contract.
I agree, Rockies front office is full of baboons. You get rid of Nolan Arenado and absorb a ton of his salary and then you sign Kris Bryant? You let John Gray walk, and why don’t you guys offer 7 years $182 million for a pitcher? There are still 81 games you have to win away from Coors Field. You’re not going to pitch every single game at Coors.
Pitcher contracts more than 5 years rarely work out.
Good for the Rockies and good for Kris Bryant. None of you all know how this will work out but 75% of the people who post pretend to know how to run a major league club better than people who do. Give something a chance before always being so quick to blast it. At least the Rockies are trying to give their fans a reason to come to the ballpark. As a baseball fan I like seeing guys sign somewhere unexpected. It’s better than seeing the top free agents go to the same 5 or 6 clubs all the time.
1-They basically traded Arenado for Bryant. Hard to see how a Rockies fan can like that.
2-Of course we don’t know how it will turn out.
Let’s assume that Ryan McMahon stays at third base—what the Rockies just ACTUALLY DID was trade RAIMEL TAPIA, their left fielder, for Kris Bryant—-and guess what….they still have Tapia. Easy to see how every Rockies fan can like that.
Arenado has been gone—there is a different GM—Arenado’s contract is $260M—$35M this year—don’t compare nor link him with Bryant and vice versa.
It’s like going back and saying the Astros traded Bryant for Mark Appel in that draft. Bryant was as much theirs as anybody else.
After the $52M that the Rox chipped in, Arenado cost $214M/7 ($30.6 per). Bryant cost the Rox $182M/7 ($26M). One will play LF and one is a GG 3B.
But if you’re happy, that’s cool with me.
How did that Todd Helton deal work out?
Too bad he will never win anything in colorado. Money sure does talk
I’d of asked for a “Please Trade” clause with the Rockies
This is Robinson Cano going to Seattle. It’s his decision clearly and good on him for making that decision but man, talk about a complete waste of talent for the next 7 years.
Milwaukee-22081 hour ago
This is Robinson Cano going to Seattle.
==============================
I said that about Jason Bay. You got one extra year, but your career is basically over.
Everyone calls out the Rockies and while they haven’t been managed so well, they have had random years where they’ve been decent. Anything can happen on any given year, you just never know. I don’t blame Bryant for signing this deal.
The Rockies are so far beyond absurd. What an absolutely ridiculous organization. They make the Reds look competent.
Say what you will about Boras but he’s the only agent in the world that could convince a team to sign a $180M mega deal to a player that plays the same position as a guy they’re paying to play against them. More evidence that Boras has a jar of black magic hidden somewhere that he reaches into time and time again.
Who are they paying to play against them? I’m not catching on…
I think he’s getting at the fact the Rockies are paying a good chunk of Arenados salary to play for the Cardinals
You can smoke weed freely in Colorado , and now you can afford the best Kush lol full no trade. Must like the Rocky Mountain lifestyle
Gotta believe the Rockies were bidding against themselves. Only the Angels are this dumb.
That John Denver is full of sh-t
Why him? If they have that much money they should keep it and spend it on their home-grown future start prospect(s), assuming that they do have some or at least one…
Be sure to visit the Kris Bryant “GO Fund Me” page to make a contribution towards the $200MM he and Boras thought he was worth and the $182MM he had to settle for.. Remember this date because by the time the 2024 season is over the Rockies will be crying the blues over the size and length of this contract and be searching for a team to take it on.
This perfectly explains why we had a lockout!! Smfh…..some of these owners belong in front of a firing squad!!
As a life long cubs fan I can’t express how happy I am he never signed an extension.
He was never offered one though either. I’m happy in general that he found a place he could settle down with his growing family
If the cubs offered him what he just got its to much. That is what I am grateful for.
How exactly does Boras pull off contracts like this? Or is it just teams know he’ll have most of the top players so better treat Scotty well
I guess Bryant doesn’t want to play for a winning team ? That has chance to make the playoffs.That’s one bad contract and for 7 years no less. Boras screwed the Rockies on this one.
Arenado took the money and then wanted out. Story wanted out. Both players don’t have a ring so I get that. KB has the hardware. He was looking for a payday. If your a Rockies fan isn’t it nice they brought a player to watch this year instead of doing the reds or pirate thing. Rockies just put a player on the field that the fans will enjoy watching. Win/win
Let’s see how many games they actually get to watch him play. Over/under 95.
Living in Denver is nice, ya know, for the way-too-vocal-on-this-site “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE TAXES?!” crowd. Gets him the cosmopolitan, hip, metropolitan environs without the California, NY, or Ontario taxes. So obviously genius move on Bryant’s part, right guys?
Well, this certainly isn’t going to make Aaron Judge any cheaper.
The only thing the NTC does is give Bryant personal choice of which team he’s traded to when the Rockies trade him, a la Arenado. So, smart choice by Bryant to get signed by more than other teams may offer. Colorado still confounds me. There is simply no logic to their process. But, whatever, fans can buy a Bryant jersey now, so cool!
Yes. NTC’s are about control and money. They can complicate trades, but they rarely stop them.
Thank you Tedsox
The clearest example I’ve ever seen of “I’ve already got a ring, I don’t need to win again, I just want to get paid.”
And pump up the HOF stats
Wow, why? This is wrong for three reasons: (1) Now he really has nothing to really play for (2) He gets hurt to much as is (3) He does not bring enough as one person to really make a difference. Now, if he was Ohni, Trout, Tatis Jr, etc….What a bad move! CB got his ring from his favorite Team – the Cubs, so he is good regarding winning. Heck, he is winning now. LOL Let’s see how much he is hurt over the next 7 years. I love Rodon, but $44 million for 2 years for a guy that is duck taped together? Scott Boris and mad teams are ruining baseball!!! For an owner to pay this after the strike is a joke.
Man, I guess Bryant really wants to on the golf course in October. Why wouldn’t a player his age want a chance to play on a contender instead of watching your career mean nothing? Yeah, his grand children will be rich, but he’ll end up being remembered for what?
Wow . What a bad bad move.. well can’t be mad at Bryant. Why turn down easy money. Let’s see how long it takes for him to go on the DL .
Gotta believe the Rockies were bidding against themselves. Only the Angels are this dumb.
I remember one time Rollie Fingers walked 4 guys in one inning! And didn’t give up a run! Lol
If they hadn’t already, wealthy players are probably now adding upscale underground bunkers to their purchase wantlists. Choosing the most guaranteed money regardless of other considerations might make more sense to them now than ever before.
All they need is three more starting pitchers, another outfielder and 2 more infielders…
The Rockies are the worst run organization in all of professional sports
James Dolan is running the Knicks and the Rangers far worse
Desperate move for both parties. Rockies overpaying to get a declining name to come to their team. Bryant, in decline, already has a ring, knows no other team will offer this much money in his one shot at free agency. This will not end well.
All this to say he chased the money. Let’s keep it simple!
The Rockies are the New York knicks of mlb.
They just love overpaying in free agency!
still not the biggest free agent deal for the rockies, adjusted for inflation.
mike hampton’s 121 million deal in 2001 works out to about 195 million in today’s money.
guess kris really likes the schools in the area (mike’s claim at the time as to why he signed).
Good player and sometimes very good player but not the superstar everyone expected him to be. The next few years of his career will be wasted in Colorado before being traded.
The Rockies will get in the postseason at least once in seven seasons he’s around won’t he?
He’s going to be an absolute disaster in the OF at some point soon in that contract. He’ll end up DH sooner than later.
He already has a WS, this is obviously Bryant chasing the most money available and working on his “counting stats” to pad his HOF case by end of his career. He should still put up good numbers for a while in that thin air.
Having been a Cub fan, I’ve seen a lot of Kris’s career, from the beginning. My perception of his batting skills is probably skewed by seeing his long cold streaks (some of them during various injuries) and seeming lack of “clutch hitting.” Maybe he can use Coors as a springboard to improvement. Strengths – good clubhouse guy who won’t irritate with histrionics. Can get on base a lot with walks (selective hitter) singles and doubles. Excellent base runner for his size, larger bases will cut down on injury likelihood. If breaking balls don’t break as much at Coors, that could help his power numbers. He’s still young and with lots of experience, he can still improve at the plate, especially if the pressure of that contract doesn’t get in his head.
Defensively, I’d park him at 3B (though he’s no wizard there) in spite of his versatile position player rep. He acquired that because Joe Maddon liked to move his puppets around. But the OF is where Kris got most of his injuries and at this point, he is an average defender at best out there. Got to keep him healthy, with that contract. It’ll be fun seeing what he does there.
Just saw that the Rox have a third baseman so ….. makes this contract more questionable.
They have Ryan McMahon… that’s more like a bench bat.
As a Cub fan this is a mixed emotions move. I think a lot of Cub fans saw him as a true mega super star after his college and first few years in majors- I believe he is only player to win college player of year, Minor player of year, ROY and MVP in consecutive seasons. He looked like a HOFer . The reality is he just isn’t that caliber of player any more. I was disappointed when he got traded but it was the right move, let someone else overpay for his next 6 or whatever years it is. He is a good, not great player
That sums it up. The Rox have to hope they can work with him on his plate approach, which maybe could be partly tailored to Coors. At least he got better offensively after the injuries. Think it’s dangerous, health-wise, to play him in the OF.
Bryant is smart as hell. Rake for 2 years, then by year 3 the Rockies wont wanna pay, and he will go to a contender who will pay. Smart
Rockies players who read MLBTR, I’m with you. I believe the playoffs are at hand for you.
Why do this a year after basically paying 2 years worth of Bryant’s salary to make Nolan Arenado to go away?
And why does Bryant want a NTC?
So he picks where he goes in 2 years when he’s traded. Why wouldn’t he want a NTC????
Because it is assumed that he gave up something in exchange for the NTC. No team is giving a player an NTC if they can sign him for an identical contract with no NTC.
He should still go into the HOF as a Cub
BORRRRRING!
#bfib
Earth to Anthony: Freeman signed. Look, I know that comment was from a previous version of the article but would it have been that difficult to change?
“ but ownership and the front office have maintained they don’t view the team as being all that far from contention.”
That seems to clearly indicate denial of reality throughout the FO and ownership.
Nice to know that he choose to join the Rockies.
These guys need a GM worse than they need Any player on the planet