The Colorado Rockies are one of the most dysfunctional franchises in MLB.
For every right decision they make, they make two wrong ones and it has been that way for years.
On Sunday, however, they made a potentially impactful present-time and long-term move.
They announced a seven-year extension with young shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, worth $63.5 million.
It also has a $20.5 million club option for an eighth season.
This is the kind of move a team like the Rockies should be making.
They should be developing their young stars and extending them to team friendly, long-term contracts.
Denver Post’s columnist Troy Renck, who covered the Rockies in the past, praised the deal for team and player.
“#Rockies secure young shortstop for several years to come. Creates cost certainty and provides young player with security. Hope is he outperforms the deal, which is highly likely if continues on current trajectory,” he tweeted.
#Rockies secure young shortstop for several years to come. Creates cost certainty and provides young player with security. Hope is he outperforms the deal, which is highly likely if continues on current trajectory. https://t.co/xq6w7aoEvI
Getting cost certainty is important, and when that cost is accessible for a player projected to be a solid regular, then even better.
Salaries in MLB are slowly getting inflated with each passing year, and the Rockies will have an infielder starter making less than $10 million on average for the foreseeable future.
Tovar still isn’t an offensive star: he hit .253/.287/.408 with 15 home runs and 11 stolen bases last year.
His minor league numbers suggest there is more offensive upside to be reached, and he is already a stellar defensive player.
The floor here is that of a league-average starter at shortstop.
The ceiling, however, is much higher if he can ever improve his hitting skills to match his excellent defense.