Ian Desmond, Rockies Agree To Five-Year, $70M Deal

The Colorado Rockies have reportedly agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal with free-agent outfielder Ian Desmond, whom they plan to use to fill their first-base opening.

Ian Desmond, Rockies Agree To Five-Year, $70M Deal

The deal, which is pending a physical, has not been confirmed by the team.

Desmond, 31, played center field for the Texas Rangers last season and hit .285 with 22 home runs and 86 RBIs while making the American League All-Star team. He received a qualifying offer from Texas, so Colorado will forfeit the 11th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Rockies owner Dick Monfort and general manager Jeff Bridich both recently pledged to increase the payroll from last season, which was a club-record $120.58 million but still just 19th in MLB.

Bridich would not discuss the pending deal, nor would he close the door on future dealing regarding the lineup.

The team is also pursuing what Bridich has termed “impact” relief pitching.

“Our goals are still the same,” Bridich said. “We came here in this Winter Meetings setting with priorities. … Those priorities are still the same. We’re still very active in what we are doing. It’s tough to gauge what’s going to happen over the next day or what this whole situation leads to after the Meetings are done.

“That’s a lot of it. Sometimes things get done. Sometimes things are set up to get done. You gather enough information in this setting to help understand things that can be done in the future.”

Desmond will add right-handed strength to a lineup that includes third baseman Nolan Arenado, who has 83 homers over the past two years; Trevor Story, who had a National League rookie shortstop record of 27 homers in 91 games before sustained a season-ending left thumb injury; and second baseman DJ LeMahieu, this past season’s NL batting champion.

Colorado’s first basemen had the third-lowest run production in MLB with a Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) of 82, or 18 points below the MLB average. Mark Reynolds was the Rockies’ primary first baseman last year.

Desmond played shortstop with the Nationals before signing a one-year free-agent deal with the Rangers to be their center fielder last season.

According to Statcast™, Desmond’s 53.4 percent ground-ball rate last season would have ranked among the highest 10 in Rockies history.

Prior to the 2014 season, Desmond turned down the Nationals’ reported seven-year, $107 million extension offer that would have bought out the final two years of arbitration eligibility.

ARLINGTON, TX – AUGUST 27: Ian Desmond #20 of the Texas Rangers makes contact for a single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Indians at Globe Life Park on Saturday, August 27, 2016 in Arlington, Texas. Texas won 7-0. (Photo by Brandon Wade/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Ian Desmond