January 31: The Rockies have now formally announced Story’s two-year deal. Feinsand tweets that Story will be paid a $2MM signing bonus, an $8MM salary in 2020 and a $17.5MM salary in 2021.
January 24, 8:39pm: It is indeed an arbitration-only contract, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan tweets. Story will receive $27.5MM over the two-year term. The Rockies will not gain control over any prospective open-market seasons but will gain some cost certainty as part of the deal.
8:36pm: The Rockies are closing in on a “multi-year deal” with star shortstop Trevor Story, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand and Jon Morosi (Twitter link). It is not yet clear whether the contract would cover any potential free agent seasons or merely settle multiple arbitration campaigns at one time.
Needless to say, a long-term extension would be a fascinating development given all the recent chatter regarding fellow star Nolan Arenado. If it’s merely an arb work-out, it’d be a notable but hardly headlining development.
Story has filed for a $11.5MM salary, with the Rockies countering at a $10.75MM offer. He’s in his second season of arbitration eligibility after earning $5MM in 2019. Story is slated to reach free agency at the end of the 2021 campaign.
Regardless of the contract specifics, the 27-year-old Story figures to be a monster again on the field in 2020. He’s coming off of a second-straight 30+ homer, 5+ fWAR effort. Story strikes out more than you’d like and only draws walks at league-average levels, but is still an exceptionally well-rounded performer. He hits for average with loads of power, contributes value on the bases, and is an outstanding defender at short.
Why anyone would want to stay under this disastrous regime
Nice city and state, great fans, lots of money. That counts for something.
You a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes?
Who doesn’t love the Hawkeyes!
Worst Avenger ever.
I love em
Negative
No kidding, I mean they are publicly wanting to get rid of their best player after 1 year of signing him to an extension. And he’s already pissed at the organization. Trevor should look at that and want to get the hell out of there. You look at this kids stats and I know they are inflated a little because of playing in Colorado.. but if you get 3/4 of this kids stats by playing in another home stadium I would take it all day from the SS position. If they sign him to some 4 year 50-60 million deal that’s probably a steal.
@Bergman
Publicly, the team has said they are NOT trading him. There were inquiries and they listened, just like every team would.
I’m sure the Angels had many inquiries about Trout and it looks like they quickly hung up the phone. What the rockies did was a major backhand to Arenado
Tough tittie, he’s making north of $30M for 6 months work.. Let’s pull up the big girl panties and go play another round of golf.
Stated that it’s arbitration years only; Story can still opt for FA in 2-years. Why not get paid in the meantime??
Weed
ha ha ha… the deciding factor no doubt.
He’s a .250 career hitter on the road … 44 road HR vs 79 home HR. He’s a slightly above avg hitter if he didn’t play half his games at Coors pin-ball stadium.
Players become beasts in a Rockie uni, soon after leaving they dissapear into the sunset.
$$$$
ok
Why do you feel the need to comment this?
Why did you feel the need to ask him?
Everytime I open the comment link, I regret it.
Why do you feel the need to ask me why I asked him?
Why do you feel the need to ask him why he asked…eh I don’t really give a crap
No I’m just joking around
Why are you joking around?
Why do you feel the need to ask me why I’m joking around?
Good comeback
what do you mean by that
Jtvincent … thanks for comment. We all feel better knowing you are ok with it. We all were in turmoil wondering if you were ok with it and now you have set all our minds at ease
This could lead to a Nolan trade hopefully to the cardinals
Let it die please…Colorado wants Jack Flaherty in return…it’s not going to happen
Yeah. Seems so
Huh??
Yeah, that would be stupid for two reasons: 1.He is their best pitcher. and 2.His career would get ruined by pitching his home games at Coors Field.
Don’t see it happening. But I hope so
I secretly hope the Braves sign him when he is a FA
Then what happens to Swanson. Doesn’t make much sense. Be prepared to be secretly disappointed
Story is one of the best players in the game I would much rather have him then Swanson
Yes. Obviously. I would rather have Story than De Jong. But there are other bigger needs to fill. So for example I would rather fill 3rd as a Cards fan rather than SS because there is a bigger need. If I wouldn’t rather have Story than Swanson I would be on something but there is more than just getting a better player it has to be at the right position.
Wrong thread homie
They move him? Story is a massive upgrade over Swanson. It’s not even close
Good work Rockies. Story is a stud.
On a side note, why is the Like/Reply button hidden from the bottom of my comments? Jeff Todd would you mind looking into this?
Pantera- this is something MLBTR changed recently. I can’t see them either and I cannot reply to any replies. Good point on Story – didn’t take them long to do the extension after they were certain Arenado is opting out. It’s a short extension, but he’s one of the best in the entire league at his position. It may hurt his stock in FA though, because instead of entering at 29, he’s going in at 31.
This is not an extension…they already had him for the years…it only covers his arbitration years…this isn’t significant at all…did you not read the article?
IKR. Everyone is saying how glad they are because they “locked him up”. Even though they didn’t.
I can’t sleep at night not knowing how popular my comments are on here
Me either I live on replies
I can even reply to my reply and that helps some of my self esteem
Ya it has been pain when it all of a sudden started doing that. In the phone app you can’t like or see likes and you can’t edit your comments, but you can at least reply so I would suggest using that
is anyone from the website going to respond to this? im curious about why the buttons disappear as well.
This site repeatedly shows that it is run by amateurs who do not think their decisions through.
They probably need thoughtful pros like you, what popular website do you run again?
haven’t you heard? it’s called 22LEOSPORTS!!!
mine works fine and I just gave you a thumbs down
Why is that comment necessary? What’s wrong with you?
Thumbs down.
@Far Beyond Driven, Mick1956
I would click on Contact Us and send the staff an inquiry. I’ve actually gotten responses before. They may have taken away your access to like/reply based on certain comments you made. Contact them and maybe you’ll find out.
YESSSSS UNDERRATED SHORTSTOP GREAT MOVE TO LOCK HIM DOWN GET SOME PITCHING NOW
They are not locking him down…he was already locked…do people read the article or…?
Pretty sure at first it didn’t say it was just for the arbitration years..
@Losbravos69 I promised these post where after that had been included in the article…
Agreed
Only $28m, they are so disrespectful
that’s pre arb saleries for you. he also didnt need to sign the deal.
He was my first pick in fantasy baseball last year. I came is 6 out of 8
Cool story
Extremely lame pun completely unintended, but I’ll slap myself for it anyway
Braves fans are dreaming that the Braves will give up top prospects and take on Arenado’s contract.
You mean Rockies fans are dreaming?
Rockies fans are not dreaming that. Rockies fans are dreaming that Bridich is shown the door and the owners sell the team to someone competent.
Soo will the Cardinals flirt with a Story trade in 2023? Lol
No. We have De Jong
No need. 3rd bade would be a massive upgrade with Arenado so that is different
Wow really disrespectful to give him a 2 year deal should have gave him a 7 year deal plus incentives and 200 million dollars
Not reading and commenting is even more disrespectful
Breaking news: The Rockies immediately put Story on trading block, causing divide between player and team
Rox need this kid.
Yanks need him, or Lindor, or Baez.
Don’t they have that Torres guy?
Lol. He’s a second baseman bro
LOL Torres played more games at short than 2b in ’19 bro
I’m sure the Angels had many inquiries about Trout and it looks like they quickly hung up the phone. What the rockies did was a major backhand to Arenado
I don’t see how it’s disrespectful to offer him a contract extension he doesn’t have to take. Story understands the business side of it and he will rightfully get paid.
I get that it isn’t the best option for them to take advantage of their position of control, given his performance, but do players that absolutely suck in the last several years of their outrageous contracts give the money back?
It goes both ways, and the players’ union put the players in this position by agreeing to the CBA with these stipulations.
Just my opinion, doesn’t mean I’m right.
You are right
It’s not an extension, that’s why there is nothing disrespectful about it remotely. In arb this year he would have gotten either 10.75 or 11.5. Next year likely would be upwards of 16. Pretty much paid him what arbitration would have anyway. This is an example of 2 sides seeing eye to eye and shaking hands, more respectful than disrespectful.
Thought this was Nolan related- will just say disregard my prior comment. No need to harp on Nolan. My mistake
Why fight over such a small difference in money in arbitration? You’re much better off both giving a little and making a deal to avoid the process. To win these cases you have to rip apart the weaknesses of a young core player. I promise you that player wouldn’t love that
All it does is basically front-loads by a bit his arbitration numbers over the next two years, assuming he continues performing at that level. It’s a smart move., especially for a FO that’s done some (shall we say) “interesting” things the last two years.
Odd decision. One of those deals we literally won’t know if it’s a good deal until the contract is over, because it most definitely doesn’t save them money this year, but next year it may… idk seems like a weird roll of the dice. Just see what happens and pay him what he’s worth when the time comes via arbitration. Theoretically you could save yourself some money.
I don’t understand contract extensions that only buy out arb years.
Between downturns and injuries, better to just pay a little more if they perform.
Free agent years or see you at the hearing.
I agree
But some make sense and the club comes out ahead…but that is usually before they hit arbitration…but this deal for Story I agree with you…just let it play out…he might get hurt this year and then you owe him the guaranteed money
Also they usually add a year beyond arbitration…which would make it an extension…this is not an extension
Arbitration is a brutal process. No it’s not an extension. But there’s something to be said to avoiding arbitration. The team may be exchanging a slight discount for coverage against an injury with the player(see it as highly unlikely Story’s performance falls off enough to make a big difference).
Meh, same thing they did with Nolan. It’s really only a 1 year deal because the first year would have been covered by arb this year, so downturns are not really that big an issue. Yeah, he could have a bad year, but it would have t have been REALLY bad to get non-tendered and I doubt it would happen even then. And that’s about the only thing that would have made a significant difference in cost. The 2nd year is a $6 million raise. Even an average season would likely get that raise in arbitration.
I’m surprised Story signed this deal. If I read this correctly, 2021 is his final year of arbitration. Mookie Betts got $27M for his final year. George Springer agreed to $21 or $23M? If this year would have netted Story $11M and he has another monster year, one would think he’d be looking at $20M+ in his final year or arbitration. Maybe the Coors field piece plays a part in his lower ARB value, but it seems like he signed a deal at the floor of what his value would be for the next 2 years. So long as he’s happy and comfortable with it, I guess that’s what matters most. He’ll hit free agency @ 29 and could get a Rendon type of deal at that point in time if he continues to improve.
Those guys started arb at 8-10M, and may have had 4 years of arb not 3. Doubling salary doesn’t happen year over year
If I remember correctly, Betts and Springer were both Super 2 players, which qualified them for 4 years of arbitration. Story missed this cut off and only had 3 arb years, so he’d have been limited to his 2020 salary to base his 2021 (final arb year) salary. Betts just received a $7-8M raise, Story may have missed out on a couple M’s for 2021, but it seems he guaranteed the $11.5M salary he filed for in 2020.
Why does it feel like the Yankees are going to get Arenado? Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Rockies got Stanton minus some dollars?
Hi
It would appear that people here either don’t read the actual article or are simply unable to understand what they read. this changes nothing about his contract. He was set to become a FA after 2021 and is still set to be a FA. The only thing this does is avoid arbitration hearings. He will now make a set amount of money for the final two years of his contract, as opposed to having his results dictate that. Good for COL if he continues to be an absolute beast. Bad for them if he sucks. They’re just trying to contain it so it doesn’t balloon up on them like it did for BOS with Betts.
The Rockies and Tigers form two of the worst put together teams in baseball. The Tigers have the further away seats with hostile guards preventing anyone to walk down the aisles. How do the owners allow continuing missteps?
I thought people would understand the arbitration process on this site. Smh. BTW, odds are unlikely he signs am actual extension with this team. With his cost being certain next two years, more likely to get traded if anything.
Right. Money seems a little low but he’s locked in for next year regardless of performance this year and he got 2 million to sign. Seen players give up a lot more to sign for less
Someone’s got a big payday coming in 2 years… he’s one of the best ss in the game and an exciting player to watch. Best of luck, Story, keep building up that stock for FA.
That contact will look real nice in Cincinnati. Rockies are going to be sellers at deadline- reds will come through and get him !
That should lock up third place