Carlos Gonzalez, one of the last standout position players without a free agent deal this offseason, is heading back to the Rockies on a 1-year deal. As first reported by Jon Heyman, Gonzalez and the Rockies had a deal all but in place on Friday morning but were hammering out the final language before making things official.
Carlos Gonzalez will return to the Rockies on a 1-year deal worth $8 million
Where he’ll actually play remains unclear.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale is now reporting that CarGo’s one-season contract is worth $8 million, more than Mike Moustakas, another late-signing free agent that returned to his previous team for far less than his asking price. He inked a deal late Thursday for $6.5 million.
This will be Gonzalez’s 10th season with the team, but he’ll returning to a squad that doesn’t really have a clear spot for him. As our friends over at Purple Row pointed out in advance of the deal bubbling up there isn’t a clear spot for him to slot in this year what with the Rockies’ outfield depth, already having a lefty at first base, and no real position that makes sense besides those too options.
Which means he’ll probably be coming off the bench or available if somebody goes down with an injury, and in that role $8 million makes sense from Colorado’s side. Nightengale also reported that Gonzalez and the Rockies discussed a three-year deal worth up to $45 million overall before he struggled due to an undiagnosed sleeping disorder that affected his season.
He hit .262/.339/.423 with a .762 OPS and an 87 OPS+ in 2017, down significantly across the board compared to the season before. He also played in 14 fewer games and had nearly 100 fewer plate appearances in 2017 versus 2016’s campaign.
Whether he can bounce back — especially now that the sleep issues have been diagnosed — and recoup some of that lost value from the theoretical three-year deal will be an intriguing storyline for him this season. He’s turning 33 this season so while this shouldn’t be a goodbye year for him, it could be the start of a string of one-year deals with the Rockies or somewhere else.
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