Late Monday evening, word quickly spread that the Rockies were close to reaching an agreement with Troy Tulowitzki on a contract extension that would keep the shortstop around through 2020. Now, via Troy Renck, we learn that it’s all finished.
Troy Tulowitzki Signs Seven-Year Contract Extension With Rockies
Tulowitzki’s existing $15 million 2014 option will be picked up, with an extra $1 million added. The Rockies will then pay the star infielder $20 million each year through 2019 and $14 million in 2020, with $6 million in escalators. There is also a $14 million club option for 2021, with $6 million in escalators and a $4 million buyout. It’s the second-biggest contract in Rockies franchise history, behind only Todd Helton’s $141.5 million, nine-year contract signed in March of 2001.
Tulowitzki has expressed a desire to remain in Colorado for the rest of his career, and has seen from the Matt Holliday and Brad Hawpe examples how uncertainty over a future contract can affect a player and a team. Both sides, then, are happy with a deal that essentially makes Tulowitzki the face of the franchise going forward.
Yahoo!‘s Jeff Passan argues that this is a bad deal for both sides. Statistician tangotiger attempts to show that it’s actually a perfectly fair deal. And our Rockies blog Purple Row is excited about the prospect of having Tulo around forever.
It remains to be seen whether the contract will be worth it, but if you were to construct the perfect player to give a ten year deal to, it would be a young power hitting shortstop with fantastic defense and an unnatural drive to compete. Moreover, at least one of Troy Tulowitzki, Ubaldo Jimenez and Carlos Gonzalez would be extended past 2014 anyway, and Tulowitzki was the easy choice of the three. The Rockies wanted him here for years after 2014, and now they do.
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