Three players the Colorado Rockies should extend right now

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Jul 13, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; A general view of Coors Field as American League starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels (17) pitches to National League third baseman Nolan Arenado of the St. Louis Cardinals (28) during the first inning during the 2021 MLB All Star Game at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

The Colorado Rockies have been at a crossroads for longer than they care to admit.

The Rockies had a 71-91 record in 2019, a 26-34 record in 2020 (equivalent to 71-91 in a 162 game schedule), and are on pace to go 73-89 in 2021. The team, however, lacks a true sense of direction going forward.

After all, the Rockies farm system was ranked in the bottom third of all farm systems by every reputable outlet and, often, ranked in the bottom five entering this season. Also, they don’t have many players locked up after the 2022 season.

With the exception of arbitration-eligible players or pre-arbitration players, the Rockies have Germán Márquez on the books for $15.3 million, Charlie Blackmon potentially on the books for a $10 million player option, and Scott Oberg for a $8 million team option (if he can be healthy and return to pitching). All other Rockies players will be in arbitration or free agents.

Márquez has a team option for $16 million in 2024 but with the exception of a handful of players that will be arbitration-eligible, the Rockies don’t have anything on the books for then.

That’s why the Colorado Rockies need to explore into extensions right now.

The Colorado Rockies need to start working on extensions for some of their players ASAP. This is unlikely to happen, at least until the Rockies name a permanent general manager but the Rockies need to strike before some of the players get too expensive for the Rockies.

Here are three players that the Colorado Rockies should try to give contract extensions to right now.

Jul 25, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray (55) pitches in the first inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

The Colorado Rockies should into extending starting pitcher Jon Gray

The case for the Colorado Rockies extending with Jon Gray could not be more clear. The Rockies decided not to trade him at the trade deadline because they think that either a) they can extend him or b) the compensatory draft pick in 2022 was more valuable than the trade return that they would have received for him.

However, considering interim GM Bill Schmidt’s revelation after the trade deadline that the team wasn’t even shopping Gray on the market, the former is almost certainly the case more than the latter.

Jon Gray has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay with the Rockies (including when he spoke with Rox Pile’s Kevin Henry here) and why not?

He is the poster child of a pitcher that pitches better at altitude than at sea level. Just look at the numbers in recent seasons (excluding his injury-plagued season of 2020, where the season was already shortened on top of his injury)

2021 Home/Away Splits — Game-Level (not including Gray’s August 11 start)
Split	W	L	W-L%	ERA	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	WP	WHIP	SO9
Home	5	3	.625	3.27	11	63.1	42	23	8	1	1.089	8.4
Away	2	4	.333	4.21	9	47.0	51	22	5	2	1.447	8.0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

2019 Home/Away Splits– Game-Level
Split	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	SO9	SO/W
Home	6	2	3.46	13	12	75.1	73	29	8	24	71	1.288	8.5	2.96
Away	5	6	4.22	13	13	74.2	74	35	11	32	79	1.420	9.5	2.47

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

2018 Home/Away Splits — Game-Level
Split	W	L	ERA	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	SO9	SO/W
Home	7	4	4.91	16	88.0	93	48	13	28	100	1.375	10.2	3.57
Away	5	5	5.34	15	84.1	87	50	14	24	83	1.316	8.9	3.46

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

2017 Home/Away Splits — Game-Level
Split	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	WHIP	SO9	SO/W
Home	5	1	3.13	8	8	46.0	43	16	13	41	1.217	8.0	3.15
Away	5	3	4.06	12	12	64.1	70	29	17	71	1.352	9.9	4.18

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Nearly every stat for each season is better for him at Coors Field. It’s hard enough to get quality pitching at Coors Field so why not make him a Rockie for years to come? After all, he has proved that he pitches better at Coors than on the road.

Jun 14, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber (26) pitches in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

The Colorado Rockies and Austin Gomber could benefit from an extension

Former Colorado Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich can be criticized and ridiculed for a lot of things and he should be. The handling of Nolan Arenado is at or near the top of the list. However, acquiring Austin Gomber in the Arenado trade is something that has paid huge dividends for the Rockies so far.

Overall, Gomber has gone 9-6 with a 3.79 ERA (125 ERA+) in 19 starts. If not for one awful start (1 2/3 IP, 9 ER in San Francisco in April), his overall ERA would be 3.01.

Especially with that awful start and if you’ve watched any of Gomber’s starts at Coors Field in 2021, you probably know that he has been masterful at Coors Field.

Home or Away — Game-Level
Split	W	L	ERA	GS	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	BF	WHIP	SO9	SO/W
Home	5	1	1.70	8	42.1	25	8	4	11	37	159	0.850	7.9	3.36
Away	4	5	5.40	11	55.0	53	33	9	17	61	236	1.273	10.0	3.59

Gomber only has just over two years of service time in the majors so an extension for him could be a team-friendly one for the Rockies but also, it could be beneficial for Gomber as he would earn than he would in arbitration (he’s making just over minimum wage at $575,500 this season).

Jun 15, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon (24) reacts in the dugout after hitting a two run home run in the sixth inning against the San Diego Padres at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon

Ryan McMahon is another player that the Colorado Rockies should seriously look into extending a contract extension to.

By WAR, he has been the best position player for the Rockies in 2021 and it’s easy to see why. He has had phenomenal defense at both second and third as he leads all of baseball with 20 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS).

Additionally, he has been much better at the plate in recent weeks (.326 AVG and a .904 OPS since the beginning of July through Monday) after having a long slump (.198 AVG and a .655 OPS from May 29 through the end of June). He has made a lot of improvements at the plate overall between 2019/2020 and 2021.

In 2021, entering Wednesday, he is hitting .266/.337/.477 with an OPS+ of 108. That OPS of .814 is exactly 100 points higher than he had in 2020 and 35 points higher than he was in 2019.

His strikeout rate has also dropped from 30 percent in 2019 and 34 percent in 2020 to 26 percent.

If he can keep improving at the plate, McMahon will be one of, if not, the biggest pieces in the Rockies offense for the next few seasons. This is the perfect time to extend him as he has two years remaining before free agency.

Next. The Rockies are hot ... but is it Fool's Gold?. dark

The Rockies also have a few other players that they should into building around. It does take two to tango as we don’t know for sure if they a) want to be Rockies for the long haul or b) if the Rockies will offer them the money that it will take to lock them up for a while but it is definitely something that should be towards the top of the Rockies to-do list in the coming weeks and months.

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That’s why the Colorado Rockies need to explore into extensions right now.

The Colorado Rockies should into extending starting pitcher Jon Gray

The Colorado Rockies and Austin Gomber could benefit from an extension

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Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon