Projected arbitration salaries for the 2020 Colorado Rockies

On Wednesday, MLB Trade Rumors released their projections for the likely arbitration eligible players and their 2020 salaries and there were a total of nine Colorado Rockies on the list.

Entering the offseason, Colorado Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich and owner Dick Monfort said in their season closing press availability session last week that the team will likely be hamstrung financially.

As they enter 2020, they have already committed $115 million to seven players. They also have nine players that will be arbitration eligible.

Here’s a look at who is eligible for the Rockies and the projections by Matt Swartz of MLBTR:

• Chad Bettis – $3.8MM
• Scott Oberg – $2.0MM
• Jon Gray – $5.6MM
• Tyler Anderson – $2.625MM
• Trevor Story – $11.5MM
• Tony Wolters – $2.0MM
• Carlos Estevez – $1.2MM
• David Dahl – $3.0MM
• Kyle Freeland – $2.4MM

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Of the players on here, the player who is least likely to be arbitration eligible is Kyle Freeland, because of his stint in the minor leagues this season. He entered the season with exactly two years of service time so with the minor league stint, he very well could fall short.

Also, it’s not surprising to see that the two players with the highest projections on there are Trevor Story and Jon Gray. If the projections end up being correct, Gray would nearly double his 2019 salary and Story’s salary would increase by more than double, as his salary would go up from $5 million.

Both Story and Gray (even with Gray not pitching for the last 6 weeks of the season) ended the season finishing 1st and 3rd on the Rockies in bWAR at 6.4 and 4.0, with Nolan Arenado sandwiched in between them at 5.7.

It should also be noted that had the Rockies not extended German Marquez in April, he would have been first-year arbitration eligible this offseason.

With those projections, the Rockies will be paying $149.125 million to 16 players. Even if the Rockies have nine players being payed the minimum salary (which was $555,000 in 2019), the Rockies player’s salary will be north of $154 million, which will be about $9 million north of their team salary entering the 2019 season.

Obviously, that’s not including any potential trades or free agent signings so as the offseason unfolds, the Rockies could find themselves creeping close to or even north of $160 million.