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How the Manny Machado signing impacts the Colorado Rockies

By Kevin Henry

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 01: David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies is tagged out at second by Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after he is caught stealing in the fourth inning of the game at Dodger Stadium on October 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 01: David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies is tagged out at second by Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers after he is caught stealing in the fourth inning of the game at Dodger Stadium on October 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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When news broke on Tuesday morning (Mountain time) that the San Diego Padres had reportedly inked Manny Machado to a huge long-term contract, we immediately started thinking about the implications for the Colorado Rockies.

Sure, on the surface, there are immediate ramifications for the Colorado Rockies with Manny Machado reportedly returning to the National League West after a brief stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. The Padres landed a big name in free agency that will join a growing young core of solid players in San Diego. An infield that contains highly rated prospects Luis Urias, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Machado becomes a very interesting one to watch develop over the course of this season.

Taking a look at a potential Padres lineup, it’s easy to see that there is some talent there. Will it be enough to challenge Colorado in the National League West standings this season? The answer is likely no. However, with the Rockies needing to do as much damage as they can do against teams who are expected to finish below them to boost their playoff chances, any improvement to one of those lower teams could make that quest tougher.

The biggest impact, however, could be felt in Colorado’s future payroll and its chances to keep one of the franchise’s best-ever players. Machado’s reported record signing of 10 years and $300 million sets the contract bar for All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado as he enters his final season with the Rockies and will be looking for a long-term deal similar to the one just scored by Machado.

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Arenado just inked a record arbitration deal, signing this offseason for $26 million, so what he is making this season is not far from the average annual value of Machado’s deal. However, Arenado will want a long-term deal that will mean the Rockies will have to pay this type of salary (or higher) over several years. This would mark the first time in franchise history that Colorado has ever shelled out that amount of money for one player … but Arenado’s talents are truly considered generational.

Our own Jake Shapiro has predicted $260 million over eight years might be a target figure that both the Rockies and Arenado could accept. That’s an average figure of $32.5 million per season.

dark. Next. Will bad contracts come back to haunt Colorado?

Will that be enough to keep Arenado? It’s unknown … but one thing we do know is that Machado’s contract sets the bar for Arenado and his discussions with the Rockies. It’s a high bar … and one Colorado will have to meet if it wants to keep its All-Star third baseman manning the hot corner at Coors Field past this season.

As a note, here was Arenado’s reaction to the news…

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