Extension season continues. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Rockies and starter German Márquez have agreed to a five-year, $43 million contract extension, pending a physical. Passan adds that the deal includes a club option that can become a mutual option if Márquez has two top-three finishes in Cy Young balloting.
Márquez, 24, would have become eligible for arbitration for the first time after this season and would have had three years of eligibility. If we assume the extension begins next season, it effectively covers those three years plus two of his free agent years. Márquez is earning a salary just above the major league minimum this season, $565,000.
Márquez impressed last season, finishing 14-11 with a 3.77 ERA and a 230/57 K/BB ratio in 196 innings. That he did so pitching half his games in Coors Field is even more impressive. His adjusted ERA, or ERA+, ranked 21st among starters who qualified for the ERA title last season. ERA+ accounts for park and league factors.