Details Behind the CarGo Deal

For those of you who follow Troy Renck of the Denver Post on Twitter, you know that he's the "go to" guy regarding all things Carlos Gonzalez.  Today, he reported the details behind Gonzalez's massive seven year $80M contract extension with the Rockies. 

"I have previously posted the signing bonus of $3 million, his $1 million salary for the upcoming season and an assignment bonus ($1 million) when traded. Here are the remaining numbers as reported by Diario Panorama’s Augusto Cardenas from Gonzalez’s hometown of Maracaibo, Venezuela.

The breakdown: $1 million in 2011, $5 million in ’12; $7.5 million in ’13, $10.5 million in ’14, $16 million in ’15; $17 million in ’16 and $20 million in ’17."

As I've discussed in previous articles, Gonzalez's seven year contract will cover his final pre-arbitration year, all three arbitration seasons, and the first three seasons of free agency.  Unless there's an opt out clause we don't know about, Gonzalez will not become a free agent until just before his age-32 season in 2018.  Still, it's not like he won't be well compensated for being bought out of his first three seasons of free agency.  Between 2015 and 2017, Gonzalez will make a very healthy $53M.  The sick part is that it's possible he ends up being slightly underpaid by the time 2015 rolls around.  That said, it's way too early to speculate on things like contract inflation and the average cost of a win five to seven years down the road--especially in this economic climate.

Still, this is a pretty good deal for both sides.  CarGo gets security he desires without having to forego a huge pay day.  The Rockies get the comfort of knowing they have two of their core players locked up through 2017.   All-in-all, it's a pretty good day in the Mile High City.