Skip to content

Rockies, Blackmon agree to 6-year deal

Dennis Wierzbicki / USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies have locked up one of their superstars for the foreseeable future, agreeing Wednesday to a six-year contract with All-Star center fielder Charlie Blackmon that could keep the 31-year-old with the club through 2023.

Blackmon's new deal kicks in immediately, and the final two years of the contract - the 2022 and 2023 seasons - are covered by player options, the team announced. Financial terms weren't disclosed, though a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand the deal is worth $108 million over the six years, with escalators that can push the total value up to $116 million.

Season Salary
2018 $12M
2019 $21M
2020 $21M
2021 $21M
2022* $21M
2023* $10M

(Contract breakdown courtesy of Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post)
*Player option

Blackmon, a second-round pick by the Rockies in the 2008 draft, has emerged as one of the game's top players over the last few years, earning his first All-Star appearance in 2014 and receiving down-ballot National League MVP votes in each of the last two seasons. Last year, Blackmon was integral to the Rockies' wild-card berth - their first playoff appearance since 2009 - managing a career-best 6.5 WAR while hitting .331/.399/.601 (141 wRC+) with 37 home runs, 35 doubles, 14 triples, and 14 stolen bases in 159 games.

Through the first few games of 2018, Blackmon has continued to rake, hitting .316/.409/1.053 (249 wRC+) with an MLB-best four home runs heading into Wednesday's showdown with the San Diego Padres.

Since becoming a full-time player in 2014, only 28 players have been more valuable than Blackmon, who has accrued 15.3 WAR over that span while appearing in no fewer than 143 games per season.

Season WAR wRC+ OPS HR SB DRS
2014 2.0 99 .775 19 28 2
2015 2.3 103 .797 17 43 -7
2016 4.1 131 .933 29 17 -2
2017 6.5 141 1.000 37 14 -5
2018 0.5 249 1.462 4 0 3

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox