Rockies make big announcement about longtime starting pitcher

The Rockies have signed starting pitcher Germán Márquez to a two-year contract extension, the team announced. The new contract will keep the right-hander in Colorado through the 2025 season. The deal will reportedly pay Márquez $20M guaranteed over the next two years, with performance incentives that could increase the total to $30M, according to MLBTR’s Steve Adams.

Thomas Harding of MLB.com provided a breakdown of the escalators in Márquez’s contract. He will receive an additional $2M each for spending 30 and 60 days on the roster in 2025. He can also earn $2M each for reaching 140, 150 and 160 innings pitched. In addition, the contract includes a $1M assignment bonus if Márquez is traded.

“Germán has been an integral part of the Rockies organization both on and off the field since his first Major League season in 2016.” Rockies senior vice president and general manager Bill Schmidt said in the team’s press release. “We are excited to secure Germán’s future in Denver with this extension and can’t wait to see him back out on the mound.”

The 2023 season was the last guaranteed year on Márquez’s contract, although he had a $16M club option (with a $2.5M buyout) for 2024. Now, he will remain with the Rockies for at least two more years, giving him plenty of time to recover from Tommy John surgery. He underwent the procedure this May, meaning he won’t be back until mid-2024 at the earliest.

Márquez has been in the Rockies organization since 2016, when the team acquired him in a trade with the Rays. He made his MLB debut that September and pitched his first full season the following year, posting a 4.39 ERA in 162 innings pitched en route to a fifth-place finish for NL Rookie of the Year. Over the next four seasons, he was one of the most durable pitchers in the league. From 2017-22, only three pitchers made more starts than Márquez: Gerrit Cole, Patrick Corbin and Aaron Nola. Prior to this season, he had spent only one stint on the injured list in his big league career.

If Márquez suffers no setbacks and quickly shakes off the rust in his return, the terms of the extension seem perfectly reasonable. An additional $27.5M (presuming he earns all $10M in performance incentives) is a fair price to pay for a season-and-a-half of a reliable starting pitcher.

Colorado now has three veteran starters under contract through 2025. Kyle Freeland is signed through 2026, with a vesting option for 2027. His contract will allow him to opt out after the 2024 season if he finishes in the top five in Cy Young voting this season, but that is a highly unlikely possibility. Meanwhile, Antonio Senzatela is signed through 2026 with a team option for 2027. Senzatela recently underwent a Tommy John procedure of his own. The Rockies will hope to have Márquez and Senzatela back to anchor the rotation alongside Freeland at some point in 2024.