Rockies Gear up For First Salary Arbitration Deadline with Paul DePodesta

The Colorado Rockies need to come to terms with their remaining salary arbitration players this week.

Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has plenty of milestones ahead in his first year at the helm. One approaches on Thursday.

By Thursday, the Rockies must come to terms with their remaining salary arbitration players. If they don’t, then they’ll head to a hearing in February in which an independent arbiter will determine what the player will be paid, based on the numbers exchanged by the two sides. Teams like to avoid arbitration because it can lead to hard feelings with the player, especially if the team wins.

Colorado has six arbitration-eligible players going into the deadline, all of which have at least one more year of team control past 2026.

Colorado Rockies Facing Arbitration

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Before the non-tender deadline in November, the Rockies decided not to exercise the contract option for infielder Thairo Estrada, who was in his final year of arbitration. Colorado paid him a $750,000 buyout to get out of paying his $7 million salary. That dropped the Rockies’ expected payroll significantly.

Colorado’s biggest arbitration bill is due to outfielder Mickey Moniak, who is expected to make $4.2 million based on projections published by MLB Trade Rumors in October. The former first-round pick had a breakthrough season as he slashed .270/.306/.518 with 24 home runs and 68 RBI, the latter two of which were career highs for a single season.

Outfielder Brenton Doyle is a super-two player, as he doesn’t have the necessary three years of service time but has reached certain benchmarks to get to arbitration. Doyle slashed .233/.274/.376 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI and is due a projected $3.2 million in 2026.

Right-hander Ryan Feltner is due a projected $2.3 million after he pitched in six games last season and went 0-2 with a 4.75 ERA. Infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman is projected to make $1.8 million after he slashed .281/.354/.361 with two home runs and 31 RBI in 110 games.

Reliever Jimmy Herget had one of the best seasons of any Rockies pitcher and is only set to make an expected $1.5 million. He went 1-2 with a 2.48 ERA in 59 games.

Colorado added an arbitration eligible player in an offseason transaction with the acquisition of pitcher Brennan Bernardino in a trade with Boston. The 34-year-old is only due $1.1 million and has made more than 50 appearances in each of the last three MLB seasons.

DePodesta’s first offseason has been marked by the players he’s released, including two former first-round picks in left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison and first baseman Michael Toglia.

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