SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Infielder Ryan McMahon and the Colorado Rockies agreed Monday to a $70 million, six-year contract that avoided salary arbitration.
McMahon gets $5 million this season, $9 million in 2023, $12 million in each of the following two seasons and $16 million in each of the last two years.
He can opt out of the contract after the 2025 season and become a free agent if he finishes among the top five in MVP voting in any year from 2022-24. He can opt out after the 2026 season if he finishes among the top five in MVP voting in 2025.
The 27-year-old had been eligible for arbitration ahead of this season and next, and could have become a free agent after the 2023 season.
McMahon set career bests last year with a .254 average and 86 RBIs, and he had 23 homers, one shy of his high. He has a .243 career average with 61 homers and 215 RBIs.
He is primarily a third baseman and second baseman but also plays first and occasionally shortstop.
Six Rockies remain eligible for arbitration: right-handers Carlos Estévez, Peter Lambert and Robert Stephenson, left-hander Kyle Freeland, second baseman Garrett Hampson and outfielder Raimel Tapia.
The McMahon move comes after Kris Bryant and the Rockies finalized their $182 million, seven-year contract on Friday, giving the franchise a cornerstone bat to compete in the loaded NL West. The 2016 National League MVP might have surprised much of the baseball world by joining a franchise that's never won a World Series, but the slugger isn't surprised at all that he's now calling Coors Field home.
“I love Denver, I love the city,” Bryant said. “I've always saw myself living there. Now that I have a son and two more boys on the way, a big family, just being so close to home, all that's a plus to me.
“I was thrilled to hear the Rockies were looking to do a deal with a bat, and I feel like I fit really well here.”
The third baseman and outfielder gets a $7 million signing bonus, payable within 15 days of the signing. He receives a $17 million salary this year, $27 million in each of the next two seasons and $26 million in each of the final four years.
Bryant joined his third team in eight months after spending his first six major league seasons with the Chicago Cubs, who traded him to San Francisco last July.
Bryant said he's had a soft spot for Colorado his entire professional career. He thought he'd be drafted by the Rockies with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2013 draft before the Cubs swooped in and grabbed him with the No. 2 selection. Once he hit free agency, he was already comfortable with a Rockies organization that scouted him extensively more than 10 years ago.
