Rockies Nola Arenado Resets MLB Payout Bar For Position Players

It's been a week and already the bar has been reset for most yearly earnings by a position player. The bar had been set when Manny Machado received a 10 year $300 million dollar deal to play for the San Diego Padres with a yearly average salary at $30M per year.

On Tuesday, Nolan Arenado and the Colorado Rockies came to terms on a new deal that'll pay him less than Machado at $260M but instead of 10 years, it's for eight. That means that his average yearly earnings will come out to be $32.5M, the new bar for position players.

The highest average yearly salary in the big leagues right now is held by 35-year-old Zack Greinke at $34.4M per year.

This is big news for the world of baseball and now the Rockies have put in place a plan to win for at least the next three seasons, they hope. Why the next three seasons you may be wondering? Well, that's because Arenado has a potential out after year three in his eight-year contract and that's not all.

Colorado just extended their Manager Bud Black for three years and star center fielder Charlie Blackmon just signed a six-year $108M deal last offseason with a player option after year four.

What do these three contracts have in common? There are all potential outs after the 2021 season. That means the Rockies have three years to figure things out, to continue to build, and progress further in the playoffs. In 2017 they lost in the Wild Card Game to the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2018 they beat the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Game but got swept in the Divisional Round by the Milwaukee Brewers.

How long will this new bar last? Bryce Harper is set to sign eventually, whether it's a long-term type of deal or a short-term deal with a team you know he's seeking to become the highest paid player in the league, pitcher or position player.

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