Senzatela, Cron agree to multiyear deals with Rockies
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Rockies agreed to multiyear deals Tuesday with right-hander Antonio Senzatela and first-baseman C.J. Cron.
Senzatela’s $50.5 million, five-year contract includes a club option for 2027. Cron will return on a $14.5 million, two-year deal.
The 26-year-old Senzatela is coming off a season in which he made 28 starts and finished with a 4-10 record. He posted a 4.42 ERA and struck out 105 over a career-high 156 2/3 innings.
Senzatela was signed by Colorado as a non-drafted international free agent on July 8, 2011, out of Valencia, Venezuela. Over five seasons with Colorado, he’s gone 36-35 with a 4.84 ERA.
Known for his effective breaking ball, Senzatela has thrived at hitter-friendly Coors Field. His .667 winning percentage in Denver is the second-highest by a Rockies starter at home (minimum 40 starts) in team history. He trails only Jorge De La Rosa, who was 53-20 at home (.726).
His new deal breaks down like this: $7.25 million in ‘22 and ’23, and $12 million in ‘24, ’25 and ‘26. The club holds an option in ‘27 for $14 million with no buyout. Senzatela can also earn $1 million each in escalators for 200 innings in ’22 and ’23. It would be applied to 2024-27.
Cron is slated to make $7 million next season and $7.5 million in ’23.
The 31-year-old Cron hit .281 with a team-leading 28 homers after signing a free-agent deal last February. His three grand slams this season were the most in franchise history.
He also earned NL player of the month honors for August when he led the NL in hitting (.387), home runs (11) and RBIs (34).
In 2020, Cron was limited to just 13 games with Detroit after undergoing left knee surgery. Cron’s also played for the Los Angeles Angels (2014-17), Tampa Bay Rays (2018) and the Minnesota Twins (2019).
He’s a career .261 hitter with 146 homers.
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AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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