The Colorado Rockies have signed infielder Ryan McMahon to a six-year extension worth $70 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The contract allows him to opt out after the fourth season if he finishes top five in Most Valuable Player Award voting in any of the previous campaigns, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He had previously been scheduled to remain under team control through the 2023 season.
MLB Trade Rumors had projected McMahon to earn $5.5 million through arbitration. Tuesday afternoon marks the filing deadline for arbitration figures, meaning more agreements -- either of the one- or multi-year variety -- are to be expected in the coming hours.
McMahon, 27 years old, had a personal-best effort last year. In nearly 600 trips to the plate, he batted .254/.331/.449 (98 OPS+) with 23 home runs and 33 additional extra-base hits. He was particularly effective when he was afforded the platoon advantage, amassing an .826 OPS against right-handed pitching. (His OPS when faced with a lefty, meanwhile, was a less-than-tolerable .665.)
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McMahon mostly played either third or second base last season. He started 95 times at the hot corner and 44 times at the keystone. He also made two brief appearances at shortstop, though that position should not be considered one he's proficient at. Overall, Baseball-Reference liked his glovework enough to estimate he was worth four Wins Above Replacement. FanGraphs, complete with a more modest accounting of his defense, had him down for 2.5 WAR; still solid, albeit not as impressive.
Whatever the case, McMahon isn't the first big expenditure the Rockies have made in recent times. Just last week, they signed free-agent slugger Kris Bryant to a seven-year pact worth $182 million. The Rockies have stated that they intend to play Bryant in left field most days, meaning he won't interfere with McMahon at third. The Rockies will likely split second-base duties between former top prospect Brendan Rodgers and Garrett Hampson.
