Colorado Rockies

Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is taking advantage of one of the new perks of the most recent collective bargaining agreement. 

Per ESPN's David Purdum, Blackmon is the first Major League Baseball player to endorse a sportsbook after reaching a deal with MaximBet. 

The new CBA allows for active players to sign endorsement deals with gambling companies. Previously, only former MLB players were allowed to have deals with gambling companies. 

MLB has historically been strict about anything involving betting because of previous gambling scandals, most notably the 1919 Chicago White Sox and Pete Rose. 

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said on SportsCenter (h/t ESPN's David Schoenfield) earlier this month he expects legalized gambling in baseball to keep growing. 

"We see it primarily as a form of increasing fan engagement," said Manfred. "It's an additional way for our fans to interact with the game," he said. "I do think in-game betting is going to be a significant component."

Purdum did note that Blackmon isn't allowed to promote betting on baseball specifically, but he is permitted to endorse the MaximBet sportsbook in general.

The deal between Blackmon and MaximBet makes sense because the online-only sportsbook is based in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Blackmon has spent his entire professional career with the Rockies since being selected in the second round of the 2008 draft. The 35-year-old is a four-time All-Star and won the 2017 National League batting title with a .331 average. 

The Colorado Rockies and left-handed starting pitcher Kyle Freeland have reached an agreement on a five-year, $64.5 million contract extension that includes a sixth-year player option, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Freeland, who was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2023 season, has played all six of his MLB campaigns with the Rockies.

The 28-year-old's best performance was in 2018, when he went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA en route to finishing fourth in National League Cy Young voting.

Freeland and the Rockies were headed for arbitration before reaching an agreement that will keep the pitcher in Denver through 2026. Per Nick Groke of The Athletic, Freeland was looking for $7.8 million. The Rockies offered him $6.4 million.

Freeland was born and raised in Denver before going to the University of Evansville in Indiana. The Rockies selected Freeland eighth overall in the 2014 draft. Three years later, Freeland made his MLB debut.

The southpaw hasn't been able to replicate his 2018 success, but he's still a serviceable pitcher. He went 7-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 23 starts last year.

Freeland pitches half of his games in the hitter-friendly Coors Field, but Groke noted that he's been up to the task.

Since he debuted in 2017, Freeland has the lowest home ERA among Rockies starters, at 4.53. And his overall park-adjusted ERA+, according to FanGraphs, is the same as [Germán] Márquez’s, representing the best on the team.

His pitch arsenal seems built for the extreme environment of Coors Field, more dependent on guile, placement and mix than on high spin rates, which can die in the thin air.

He'll be pitching Tuesday when the Rockies welcome Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies to town for an 8:40 p.m. ET game. Right-hander Kyle Gibson will take the mound for the opposition.

The Colorado Rockies and third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant have reached an agreement on a seven-year, $182 million contract, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Here's how RosterResource projects the team's lineup and payroll after the deal.

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Lineup

1. RF Raimel Tapia

2. LF Kris Bryant

3. DH Charlie Blackmon

4. 1B C.J. Cron

5. 3B Ryan McMahon

6. 2B Brendan Rodgers

7. CF Sam Hilliard

8. C Elias Diaz

9. SS Jose Iglesias

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Payroll

Bryant's reported contract carries an average annual value of $26 million. With that figure in mind, the Rockies' estimated 2022 payroll is $141 million.

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Notes

Bryant, the 2016 National League MVP, hit .265 (.835 OPS) with 25 home runs and 73 RBI for the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants last season.

Chicago traded him to San Francisco last year amid a roster overhaul to begin a rebuilding process.

He's in Denver for the long haul as the Rockies look to be competitive in a brutally tough NL West. Colorado went just 74-87 and finished fourth last year. The Rockies finished fifth in runs and sixth in OPS but 12th in ERA.

Bryant's bat should certainly help a team that could lose power-hitting shortstop Trevor Story, who has received interest from a host of teams including the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners.

He's by far the biggest offseason acquisition for the Rockies, who also notably lost right-hander Jon Gray to the Texas Rangers. Other additions include pitchers Chad Kuhl and Alex Colome and shortstop Jose Iglesias.

Despite the Bryant move, the Rockies still have a lot of work to do. FanGraphs projected the team to have a league-worst 67-95 record before the Bryant move. Adding him should at least keep them out of the MLB basement, but the pitching staff still needs work.

Ultimately, Bryant is a good building block for a team trying to work its way back to competing for playoff spots after making the 2017 and 2018 postseasons.

After finishing the 2021 season with the San Francisco Giants, Kris Bryant is reportedly on the move. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, Bryant agreed to a seven-year deal worth $182 million from the Colorado Rockies.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the contract includes a full no-trade clause.

As the Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were in the midst of their battle atop the National League West last season, both teams made blockbuster moves before the July 30 trade deadline. 

The Dodgers struck first by acquiring Trea Turner and Max Scherzer from the Washington Nationals. 

San Francisco responded by sending Alexander Canario and Caleb Kilian to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Bryant. The 2016 NL MVP played well with his new team, posting a .262/.344/.444 slash line and seven homers in 187 at-bats. 

Bryant's entire 2021 season was a nice return to form after a down 2020. He hit .265/.353/.481 with 25 homers, 73 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 144 games between the Cubs and Giants. 

Even though he's not back at the level he was during his peak in 2016 and 2017, Bryant has been a consistently above-average offensive player over the past four seasons. The four-time All-Star has a 122 OPS+ in 427 games during that span. 

Durability hasn't been a significant issue for Bryant throughout his career. He did miss 60 games in 2018 and 26 games in 2020 but has played 144 games in each of his five other seasons.

The Giants are in a potential transition period this offseason. Buster Posey has already announced his retirement after a fantastic 12-year career.

Meanwhile, Bryant gets a fresh start with a team that he chose. The 30-year-old will be an anchor in the middle of the Rockies' lineup as he attempts to help them return to relevance. 

The Rockies remain fascinating because it's not at all clear what they are trying to do. 

After trading Nolan Arenado last offseason, it seemed to make sense that Colorado would go all-in on rebuilding. Instead, the front office held on to Trevor Story and Jon Gray rather than move them before the trade deadline. 

Gray signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent. Story remains a free agent.

Their pitching staff remains a mess. None of their returning starters posted an ERA under 4.33 in 2021. Carlos Estevez is their projected closer after having a 4.38 ERA and allowing 71 hits in 61.2 innings last season. 

Adding Bryant certainly helps the Rockies, but their overall roster talent still isn't at a point where they are going to be able to compete with the Dodgers, Giants and San Diego Padres in the NL West.

Multiple teams have reportedly shown interest in shortstop Trevor Story on the free-agent market.

Mike Rodriguez of Univision reported Sunday the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees had all reached out to Story.

Also, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported the Minnesota Twins had been in contact with Story as well. One official told Hayes the Twins had a "lot of irons" in the fire, so as to say they were checking in on multiple different players.

The reports regarding the Yankees and Twins came out before the teams completed a significant trade Sunday night, which saw the Yankees send catcher Gary Sanchez and third baseman Gio Urshela to the Twins for third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.

As a result, it is unclear where the Yanks and Twins stand in the Story sweepstakes.

Story, 29, has spent his entire six-year MLB career with the Colorado Rockies, but it looks like he may finally be on the verge of moving on from the rebuilding club.

During his time in Colorado, Story has consistently been one of MLB's top shortstops and one of the Rockies' best players.

The two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner has finished with at least 24 home runs and 72 RBI in each of the five non-shortened seasons he has played in.

That included a career year in 2018 when he hit .291 with 37 home runs, 108 RBI, 88 runs and 27 stolen bases.

He followed that up with another great season in 2019, hitting .294 with 35 homers, 85 RBI, 111 runs and 23 steals.

Story was excellent again during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, hitting .289 with 11 home runs, 28 RBI and 41 runs while also leading the National League with 15 steals and four triples in 59 games.

His production did drop off a bit last season, though, as his .251 batting average was his lowest since 2017. He also recorded 24 home runs, 75 RBI, 88 runs scored and 20 stolen bases.

Even though he didn't reach his usual level of play, it's understandable why he's a top target.

Of the teams reportedly interested in Story, the Astros are arguably most intriguing, as they would conceivably be signing him to replace free-agent shortstop Carlos Correa, who was their starter since 2015.

If the Cardinals sign Story, they will reform the Rockies' former left side of the infield, as they acquired third baseman Nolan Arenado from Colorado last offseason.

The Guardians have been more focused on saving money rather than spending it lately, which saw them trade shortstop Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets last offseason, but signing Story would be proof that they still want to contend.

Minnesota has been aggressive this offseason, acquiring starting pitcher Sonny Gray from the Cincinnati Reds and both Sanchez and Urshela from the Yankees.

Signing Story would fill a major hole for the Twins since last year's starter, Andrelton Simmons, signed with the Chicago Cubs this week.

It's unclear if the Yankees are still in on Story after acquiring Kiner-Falefa since the slick-fielding utilityman may be New York's primary plan at shortstop.

The Yankees seemingly need to make a splashy move to get out of the shadow of the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, though, and signing Story could be that move.

If New York does sign Story, it could always deploy Kiner-Falefa as a super utilityman thanks to his capability of playing short, third, second and even catcher.

Story is one of the last big dominoes to fall in free agency, and he could be a game-changer for whichever team signs him, especially if he returns to his pre-2021 level of production.

The Colorado Rockies are showing faith in Bud Black as their manager going forward. 

Per Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post, Black signed a one-year extension earlier this month that ties him to the Rockies through the 2023 season. 

Black is entering his sixth season with the Rockies after being hired in November 2016 to replace Walt Weiss.

The Rockies signed him to a three-year extension in February 2019 that was set to expire after the 2022 season. 

Black's tenure in Colorado got off to a strong start with back-to-back winning seasons in 2017 and 2018. The Rockies made the playoffs both years, losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2017 National League Wild Card Game and Milwaukee Brewers in the 2018 NLDS. 

Since the start of 2019, the Rockies have been among the worst teams in the National League. They have gone 171-212 during that span with three consecutive fourth-place finishes in the NL West. 

A lot of the issues are related to a series of poor trades and reduced payroll that make it difficult to compete in the same division as the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. 

Nolan Arenado, who signed an eight-year, $260 million extension in February 2019, was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for five players prior to the start of last season. 

The Athletic's Keith Law wrote at the time of the deal that the Rockies "just dumped a contract, failing to acquire any players who seem likely to be part of the core of their next playoff team."

Colorado's payroll went from a franchise-record $145 million in 2019 to $53 million in 2020, per Cot's Baseball Contracts. The payroll was back up over $100 million last season, but they still finished 16 games behind the Cardinals for the second wild-card spot in the NL.     

There is reportedly another suitor in the Kris Bryant sweepstakes.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, the Colorado Rockies are "obviously aiming to compete in 2022" and are interested in signing the former Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants star to help them do just that.

Robert Murray of FanSided previously reported the Seattle Mariners were interested in Bryant even though he is not expected to sign before a possible Dec. 1 work stoppage.

Colorado would be hard-pressed to find a better immediate upgrade to its lineup in free agency than Bryant.

The 29-year-old is a four-time All-Star who won the 2015 National League Rookie of the Year and the 2016 NL MVP during his time with the Cubs. During his MVP-winning season, he also helped Chicago break a World Series championship drought that dated back to 1908, and he helped lead the Giants to the playoffs last season.

Bryant started his career as a third baseman, but part of his value is his ability to play anywhere in the outfield and at first base if needed. That versatility could allow the Rockies or any other team to pursue other options even if they signed Bryant.

He slashed .265/.353/.481 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI last season for the Cubs and Giants and is a playoff-tested veteran.

Colorado missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons and finished in fourth place in the NL West at 74-87 in 2021. It has plenty of ground to make up in a daunting division that features contenders in the Los Angeles Dodgers, Giants and San Diego Padres, although signing Bryant would represent an addition for Colorado and a subtraction for San Francisco.

Such a move would also bring some star power back to the Rockies after they traded Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals before the 2021 season. Trevor Story is also a free agent, although Heyman previously reported they are interested in re-signing the two-time All-Star shortstop.

Perhaps teaming up with Bryant in hitter-friendly Coors Field would be an intriguing situation for Story as the Rockies look to build a contender.            

Star shortstop Trevor Story declined an $18.4 million qualifying offer from the Colorado Rockies, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman.

Story will now hit MLB free agency. Should he sign elsewhere, the Rockies will receive a draft pick as compensation. Many expect the two-time All-Star to ply his trade elsewhere in 2022, so his decision to turn down the qualifying offer wasn't a surprise.

Colorado decided to keep Story through the 2021 MLB deadline, which was somewhat unexpected because the team clearly wasn't going to make the playoffs—the Rockies finished 74-87.

"I'm confused, and I don't have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded," Story told reporters at the time.

General manager Bill Schmidt, however, made it pretty clear the franchise would be happy to watch the 29-year-old leave and collect the compensation pick, per MLB.com's Thomas Harding:

With the way the system is set up, there's a financial component to it. Depending where the pick is, it's probably a couple million dollars added to your [signing] pool money that you're able to use throughout the draft. So it's just not that player. It might be a couple other players.

“But with that pick, that was where Trevor was drafted. Nolan [Arenado] was in the vicinity, Ryan McMahon—we've had some success. We've had some misses, but we've had a lot of success in those areas.

Following the conclusion of the regular season, Story said he might still be willing to return to Denver. What he identified as a main focus in determining his next destination, however, effectively took the Rockies off the table. 

"Winning is at the top of the list, and that's something that has always meant the most to me," he told reporters. "I think this is a chance for me to kind of see where that's at."

One reason Story might have taken the qualifying offer was that it afforded a level of certainty at a time of volatility.

MLB owners and the MLB Players Association might be facing a work stoppage, which would put any normal offseason business on the back burner. And with free agency formally underway, Story is one of multiple prominent shortstops hitting the open market.

Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Javier Baez are all available to the highest bidder, so Story's representatives could have a hard time pinpointing their client's earning power right now.

The Texas native put together a solid 2021 season but was still a level or two below what he delivered in his back-to-back All-Star seasons in 2018 and 2019.

In 142 appearances, he had 24 home runs, 75 RBI and a .251/.329/.471 slash line. Per Baseball Savant, he had a .448 expected slugging percentage and .341 expected weighted on-base average. Those numbers both declined for the third straight year.

🚨 Trevor Story bat flip 🚨 pic.twitter.com/3LOro2yKqK

— MLB (@MLB) August 18, 2021

Story's home and road splits will likely raise some concerns as well. He has a .972 OPS at Coors Field and a .752 everywhere else in MLB for his career, according to Baseball Reference.

Of course, the same questions surrounded Nolan Arenado, who had 34 home runs and a .494 slugging percentage in his first season with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Story should be able to find a new home before Opening Day, but he may not get the kind of payday that appeared to be headed his way a few seasons ago. Having said that, turning down the qualifying offer shouldn't wind up being a big mistake given both his earning power and the overall state of the Rockies.

Cincinnati Reds right-hander Luis Castillo and Colorado Rockies right-hander German Marquez are unlikely to be traded this winter, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. 

Both pitchers have been linked in trade rumors since the 2021 campaign ended. 

The Reds are likely to cut payroll this winter, and Castillo was seen as a prime candidate to be moved. The 28-year-old is arbitration-eligible through the 2023 season and is projected to earn $7.6 million in 2022. 

A report earlier this week by Jon Morosi also suggested the Reds were more open to trade discussions about Castillo than they've been in the past. The Los Angeles Dodgers had been linked to the former All-Star, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.  

Castillo went 8-16 during the 2021 season with a 3.98 ERA, 1.364 WHIP and 192 strikeouts in 187.2 innings across a career-high 33 starts. He also had a 4.8 WAR. 

The Dominican native made his MLB debut in 2017 and has gone 40-49 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.220 WHIP across five seasons. 

Marquez, meanwhile, was listed as a "name to watch" earlier this week by Morosi, who added the Rockies are "certainly going to cycle through and maybe get a little bit younger” this winter. 

However, Marquez won't become a free agent until after the 2024 campaign. He signed a five-year, $43 million contract with the Rockies in April 2019. 

The 26-year-old earned his first All-Star selection in 2021, when he went 12-11 with a 4.40 ERA, 1.272 WHIP and 176 strikeouts in 180 innings across 32 starts. He also had a 3.3 WAR. 

With Castillo and Marquez likely off the market, look for teams to instead eye some of MLB's top free-agent pitchers, including Zack Greinke, Marcus Stroman and Anthony DeSclafani.