Rockies sign Márquez to two-year extension

DENVER – The Rockies and right-handed pitcher Germán Márquez agreed to a two-year, $20-million contract extension through 2025, the team announced on Friday.

Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report the base salary. A source told MLB.com that Márquez can also receive up to $11 million more in ‘25; $2 million each for 30 and 60 days on the roster, $2 million apiece for 140, 150 and 160 innings pitched and $1 million if traded.

Márquez, an All-Star in 2021, underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in early May, and may not be available until midseason 2024 or later. His previous five-year, $43-million contract concludes at the end of the season, but there was a 2024 club option worth $16 million.

“There was mutual interests on both sides,” Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt said. “But he wants to stay a Rockie as he goes through this rehab process and hopefully comes out on the other side.

“We're optimistic that everything's going to be positive. There might be some bumps in the road. But we're hopeful that he's going to come back and be where he was moving forward. He's still 28 years old.”

For Márquez, who signed his original deal in good times for the Rockies, it’s an indication he wants to see if he can help through current struggles.

The pitcher and team both signaled a strong commitment with this agreement.

Marquez could have tested free agency and found a new home at a more pitcher-friendly ballpark. Teams are less reluctant than they once were to sign rehabbing players to long-term contracts and Marquez likely would have drawn interest in free agency and attracted a similar deal.

The Rockies are taking a gamble guaranteeing $20 million to a pitcher whose return date remains uncertain.

“I think we know each other, right?” manager Bud Black said before Friday night’s game in San Francisco. “We know Germán and Germán knows this organization. He feels a strong loyalty, and I think it speaks volumes that Germán wants to be part of this moving forward.

“He wants to be part of the solution for us to turn it around and get to where we want to be.”

Marquez could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Rockies first extended Márquez in 2019, after he was a key part of a young staff that led the team to postseason appearances in 2017 and 2018. The club also reached extensions with lefty Kyle Freeland (five years, $64.5 million with a conditional player option for 2027) and Antonio Senzatela (five years, $50 million with a 2027 club option) that began in 2022.

Senzatela has sustained season-ending injuries the last two years, and Freeland has struggled for consistency in the two seasons under the new deal.

Márquez is 65-56 with a 4.41 ERA in 175 career games (all with the Rockies and all but three of them starts). He showed up at Spring Training this year with peak pitch location, and looked to be shaking the issues that led to a 9-13 record and 4.95 ERA (93 ERA+) in 2022. But after an early-season bout with an elbow problem and then Tommy John surgery after just four starts, he finished the season with, once again, a 4.95 ERA.

Since the injury, Márquez has stayed with the club throughout his rehab process, all the while privately saying he wanted to sign a new deal with the Rockies.