Colorado Rockies: Nolan Arenado and the contracts for the 2020 season

Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies — DENVER, CO – AUGUST 7: Charlie Blackmon #19 of the Colorado Rockies follows through on a swing for his 1,000th career hit – a sixth inning single – against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field on August 7, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

For purposes of this article, we will focus on salaries for the 2020 season that are already in place or are estimated to be $8 million or more.

Charlie Blackmon will make $21.5 million as part of a contract extension he signed last April.

Wade Davis will make $17 million as part of a three-year, $52 deal he signed last offseason.

Ian Desmond will make $15 million as part of a five-year, $70 million deal inked two offseasons ago.

Jake McGee will make $9.5 million as part of a three-year, $27 million deal signed last offseason.

Bryan Shaw will make $9 million as part of a three-year, $27 million deal signed last offseason.

Daniel Murphy will make $8 million as part of the two-year, $24 million deal he inked recently.

Trevor Story, projected to make $6.4 million in his first year of arbitration this season, will likely go over the $8 million mark in arbitration next season. Let’s set it at $8 million for now, which could be low, depending on Story’s 2019 campaign.

With those numbers, those seven players will make up $88 million (or more, depending on Story) of the payroll for the 2020 season.

Let’s say that the Rockies sign Arenado and his average salary would be $30 million for next season. That would bump that figure up to $118 million for eight players.

This year, Colorado is projected to have a payroll just under $152 million. The contracts for those same eight players this season are expected to be $114 million, or roughly 75 percent of the overall payroll.

Schedule