Nolan Arenado, Rockies Reportedly Agree to Record $26M Arbitration Settlement

Third baseman Nolan Arenado agreed to a one-year, $26 million deal with the Colorado Rockies through arbitration, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

That's the most money one player has received through the arbitration process, according to Rosenthal. Per Dan Gartland of Sports Illustrated, the previous high was the $23 million that third baseman Josh Donaldson earned with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018.

Arenado has led the National League in home runs three of the past four seasons. A six-time Gold Glove winner and four-time All-Star, Arenado had 38 home runs, 110 RBI and a .297/.374/.561 slash line last year. He's finished in the top 10 of NL MVP voting four times and is entering his age-28 campaign.

The Rockies had made the playoffs just three times in their first 24 years of existence, but Arenado has helped Colorado reach the postseason in back-to-back seasons for the first time.

The future will be bright in Colorado as long as the team inks Arenado to a long-term deal during next year's offseason, when he'll become a free agent. Jon Heyman of Fancred, who reported that the club and player were $6 million apart before the sides met close to the middle, also mentioned that "it's very hard to see [Arenado] signing before free agency.

As far as the 2019 season goes, the Rockies should be playoff contenders once again. While they did lose second baseman D.J. LeMahieu and relief pitcher Adam Ottavino (and potentially Carlos Gonzalez, who is still a free agent), the Rockies added Daniel Murphy, who has slashed .326/.375/.542 over the past three seasons. Also, southpaw Kyle Freeland looks like a bona fide staff ace after he went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA last year.

Colorado opens its 2019 campaign on the road against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, March 28.