German Marquez, Rockies Reportedly Agree on 5-Year, $43M Contract Extension

The Colorado Rockies have agreed to a five-year, $43 million contract extension with starting pitcher German Marquez, according to ESPN.com's Jeff Passan.

The deal will cover at least Marquez's first year of free agency and includes a club option for 2024 that turns into a mutual option if he has two top-three Cy Young finishes.

Marquez is eligible for arbitration through the 2022 season.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal shared more details on the agreement:

The move continues the trend of younger players opting for long-term security over testing the waters in free agency.

The Atlanta Braves confirmed Tuesday they signed left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to an eight-year, $100 million extension. According to Passan, Acuna can earn as much as $124 million over 10 years. The Tampa Bay Rays signed American League Cy Young winner Blake Snell for five years and $50 million ahead of the 2019 season.

Marquez's contract has the potential to be a bargain for Colorado. The 24-year-old was 14-11 with a 3.77 ERA and 3.40 FIP in 2018, per FanGraphs. He also averaged 10.6 strikeouts and 2.6 walks per nine innings. 

The 6'1", 225-pound right-hander started the Rockies' second game this year, allowing one earned run and striking out seven over six innings in a 6-1 win over the Miami Marlins.

For years, the Rockies struggled to cultivate homegrown pitching, which led to splashy free-agent signings such as Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle. 

Marquez didn't come up through the Rockies system since the team acquired him in 2016, but the Venezuelan has clearly made strides under the franchise's watch. He, Kyle Freeman and Jon Gray have shown the Rockies are turning a corner in terms of their player development.

Of the three, Gray will be the first to hit free agency, yet he's still under team control until 2022.

Colorado answered one of its biggest looming questions when it handed Nolan Arenado an eight-year, $260 million extension. Locking up Marquez for the long term as well shows the owners and the front office are committed to winning a World Series with the current core.