Rockies could lock up Freeland, Story after Marquez extension

The Colorado Rockies might not be finished locking up key players after already signing German Marquez and Nolan Arenado to five- and eight-year extensions, respectively.

Rockies chairman and chief executive officer Dick Monfort said he prefers signing shortstop Trevor Story to an extension before the 26-year-old hits free agency, according to Nick Groke of The Athletic.

Story earned down-ballot National League MVP votes last season and has two years of arbitration remaining before becoming eligible for free agency following the 2021 season. The shortstop is 7-for-30 with one homer and three walks through eight games this campaign.

Monfort also mentioned the team could look to reach a deal with Opening Day starter Kyle Freeland, too, according to Groke.

Freeland, 25, is coming off a breakout campaign in which the left-hander posted a 2.85 ERA over 202 1/3 innings and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting.

It has become a growing trend across baseball to extend players before they're eligible to hit free agency. In addition to the pair of Rockies who committed their future to Colorado, players such as Mike Trout, Chris Sale, Paul Goldschmidt, Jacob deGrom, Xander Bogaerts, and Ronald Acuna Jr. have all recently signed extensions.