The Rockies and left-hander Austin Gomber have agreed to a $1.65MM salary for 2023 and thus avoided arbitration, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. This comes in just under the $1.8MM figure that was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz. The Rockies subsequently announced that they have indeed signed Gomber to a one-year deal.
Gomber, 29, was a Cardinals draftee but he came over to the Rockies prior to the 2021 season as part of the Nolan Arenado trade. His first season with Colorado went well, as he made 23 starts and tossed 115 1/3 innings. He posted an ERA of 4.53 in that time along with a 23.2% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 44.3% ground ball rate.
Last year, however, he wasn’t able to be quite as effective. By the middle of June, he was sitting on a 6.43 ERA through 12 starts. He spent more time in the bullpen from that point on, making five further starts and 16 relief appearances. He had better results in the second half and pushed his season down but it still settled at a high level of 5.56.
Disappointing results aside, Gomber crossed the three-year service mark and qualified for arbitration for the first time. He’ll get a modest raise this year and will be in line for two further trips through arbitration after that before reaching free agency. It’s possible he may get a shot to retake a rotation job since the club has been fairly quiet in that department this offseason. Antonio Senzatela suffered a torn ACL last year and will likely miss the beginning of the season. Until he returns, the rotation projects to be Germán Márquez, Kyle Freeland and José Ureña, with Gomber, Ryan Feltner, Peter Lambert and Noah Davis the candidates for the back end.
“Pyle, did your parents have any children that lived?!”
Shazam, they sure did Sergeant Carter
One of the most lopsided trades in the history of sports.
Ol sliderwithcheese would still argue that the Cardinals made a stupid move and that they should have gotten the Rockies to pay more.
And yet as a Rockies fan, I am OK with it. Arenado didn’t want to be there and wouldn’t stop whining so they got rid of him the best way they could.
Besides, the return on the trade is not yet finished. Montero is not a bad prospect.
What if Montero retires this year to pursue a life as a missionary?
Then he will probably have lived a more fulfilling life than the average baseball player.
Hiflew, the Rockies got absolutely fleeced by the Cardinals! One of the most lopsided trades of all time. The type of talent that Arenado has plus paying half or more of his salary? The Rockies should have gotten a an everyday top player plus 2 top 12 prospects!
The Cardinals F.O. held their breath then busted out laughing when that deal was complete! Rockies got hosed!!
Not sure where you’re getting that the Rockies paid half the remaining salary.
Just checked BR and they have it as the Rockies covering $51M of the $199M owed to Arenado over the next 6 years. Clearly less than half…more like 1/4.
You have your opinion and I have mine, Arenado was a sunk cost. Some website does not determine what a player’s trade value is. The other 29 teams do. The Rockies front offices are not idiots. They took the best offer they had for a guy they clearly needed to get rid of.
Fangraghs shows $16 million for 2023 followed by $5 million per year in 2024 – 2026. The truth is that Colorado gambled on Arenado opting out after the 2021 season. They gambled incorrectly.
The Rockies had a choice of playing a disgruntled Arenado for two seasons and watching him opt out after last season and get nothing but a draft pick or take the haul that was offered to them. Its still to early to say how the trade will work out for them
I still can’t believe the Cardinals got Arenado giving up very little and Colorado is still paying most of his salary. I can’t believe Colorado couldn’t find a better deal than that.
@cardsfan57
Baseball Reference has the Rox covering only $51M of the $199M Arenado is owed for the next six years.
The Cardinals essentially signed Arenado for 6/148 and gave up 4 lotto tickets with “still to be determined” value. Not saying they aren’t getting good value…Arenado is a beast obviously. The “Cards got him for nothing” notion seems kinda strong though. They picked up like 75% of his remaining salary.
So between him and Arenado the Rockies are on the hook for 17.65 MM this season. Rough.
Sometimes you give up Gomber and sometimes you give up Alcantara.
That Ozuna trade was a doozie. Wasn’t Gallen part of the return along with Alcantara?
YEP
Hey they got burelson with the comp pick for QO’ing ozuna. Still a terrible trade but burelson may end up making it alittle less lopsided
To try and keep my sanity, I don’t look at the Ozuna trade in a vacuum, I tell myself that STL traded Luke Weaver, Austin Gomber, Zac Gallen, and Sandy Alcantera for Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Marcel Ozuna. Hurts a little less that way.
fair enough
Eventually he’ll make Colorado forget about Arenado. Another year of seasoning and he grows into a cost controlled ace much like Alcántara did after he left.
I don’t think anyone especially HOF voters in a decade will be forgetting arenado. He’s been a stud since his 2nd season. Will go down as a top 5 3B by the time he hangs up the cleats.
He needs a title or at least a decent postseason to even think about the Hall Of Fame. 1-12 with the cardinals and 4-28 career. Dude quits in September. Eventually teams will IBB whomever is hitting in front of him just to get his easy out.
Colorado forgot about that guy as soon as the door hit him.
As they should have. He turned his back on his team and the entire city all for a whopping three playoff games with L’s in each. He’ll get tired of St. Louis and demand out of there too. Maybe he’ll eventually cry his way to a team who makes it past the first round.
He is 29, had an ERA of 5 1/2 and couldn’t even hold on to his spot in the rotation last year on a bad team. Now he is going to turn into an Ace???
Nickname: THE BIG G
🙂
Always enjoyed watching the GOMBER family football games.
All were ferocious tacklers.
You could never see exactly who was at the bottom of the………………
WAIT FOR IT………………………….
GOMBER PILE !!
Hey, Andy.