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Report: Rockies, Desmond agree to 5-year, $70M deal

Norm Hall / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Colorado Rockies made their first splash of the offseason, agreeing to a deal with outfielder Ian Desmond, pending a physical, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

The deal is reportedly for five years and $70 million, according to Joel Sherman from the New York Post. It also reportedly includes a sixth-year option that, if exercised, would make the deal worth six years and $83 million.

IAN DESMOND SALARY BREAKDOWN

Year Salary
2017 $8 million
2018 $22 million
2019 $15 million
2020 $15 million
2021 $8 million
2022 (Option) $15 million

(Courtesy: New York Post's Joel Sherman)

Due the Texas Rangers offering Desmond a qualifying offer, they will receive a first-round sandwich pick between the first and second rounds of the 2017 MLB Draft, and the Rockies lose their first-round pick, 11th overall.

What's notable is the Rockies already have David Dahl, Gerardo Parra, Charlie Blackmon, and Carlos Gonzalez in the outfield. So it comes as no surprise that Desmond is likely to play first base while seeing time in the outfield, Rosenthal reports.

Assuming the Rockies don't trade any of their outfielders, and Desmond does indeed play first base, that shrinks the market even more for Edwin Encarnacion, who would have one less suitor.

The move also does a similar job in delivering a hit to the Mark Trumbo camp.

In his lone season with the Rangers last season, Desmond made it count. After moving exclusively to the outfield for the first time in his career, he became an All-Star, slashing .285/.335/.446 with 22 home runs and 29 doubles in 156 regular-season games.

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