San Diego – For fans, the Rockies’ season is equal parts charming and alarming. The team, picked to finish last in the National League West, is contending for a playoff spot. However, there’s concern how long this revival will last given the rising costs of core players next season.
Owner Dick Monfort said that signing all-star outfielder Matt Holliday and third baseman Garrett Atkins to multiyear deals would be a priority this winter.
“It’s something we are going to look into doing,” Monfort said Wednesday, indicating that there was no truth to whispers that ownership was looking to add a limited partner.
Whether the Rockies can accomplish the goal is debatable. Holliday will be a free agent after the 2010 season, Atkins after 2011. The team can simply go year-to-year with each player in the arbitration process, where the salary spikes are considerable but no commitment is required. The Rockies haven’t spoken with Holliday about a multiyear contract since he switched to agent Scott Boras 21 months ago.
Holliday is making $4.4 million this year and could easily jump to more than $7 million next season. The richest contract the Rockies have awarded since the winter of 2000 came last December when homegrown pitcher Jeff Francis signed a four-year, $13.25 million deal that took him through arbitration and includes a club option in the first year of free agency.
“Contract matters are for the offseason. I am not thinking about it,” Holliday said. “But I definitely like playing here with this group of guys.”
Travis Hafner provided a hint of the kind of money involved for a player of Holliday’s caliber, signing a six-year, $65 million contract in July. And he’s strictly a designated hitter.
The Rockies approached Atkins, on track for another 100-RBI season, about a multiyear deal last winter, but talks went nowhere.
“I would be open to listening. I know that they aren’t going to be able to keep everybody because it’s a business,” Atkins said. “It would be nice if we could be together for four or five years instead of just one or two.”
Wells remains on radar
Looking for rotation depth, the Rockies spoke to David Wells’ agent Thursday as soon as the pitcher became a free agent. The sides were expected to continue talking today. Wells is facing a seven-game suspension for throwing a baseball and spraying an umpire with spit when he joins a new team’s 25-man roster. He is appealing the ruling, but a hearing would likely occur soon after he’s added.
