Thursday, January 8, is MLB’s deadline for teams to agree to terms with their salary arbitration-eligible players.
A failure to do so will lead to an arbitration hearing in February in which an independent
arbiter will settle the matter and determine the player’s salary based on numbers submitted by both sides.
Back in early October, Skyler Timmins took an early look at the Rockies’ arbitration situation. Since then, the Rockies have parted ways with Thairo Estrada and Lucas Gilbreath, reducing the number of arbitration cases they will need to address.
The current Rockies roster has six players eligible for arbitration. Below is a discussion of their projected salaries, per MLB Trade Rumors, for 2026.
Brennan Bernardino — LHP (2.150)
Projected salary: $1.1 million
The Rockies acquired Bernardino, 34, via a trade with the Boston Red Sox.
He has been a durable middle reliever for the Sox, pitching 50-52 innings over the last three seasons. Bernardino has a cumulative 3.46 ERA in 153 1/3 IP with a 23.6% K% and a 9.9% BB%.
Worth noting, Bernardino was particularly effective against lefties and kept them to .211/.276/.336.
Brenton Doyle — OF (2.161)
Projected salary: $3.2 million
As we wrote in “Ranking the Rockies,” this was a down year for Doyle due to injuries and personal issues. Still, he slashed .233/.274/.376 with 15 home runs and 57 RBI.
However, the Super Two player’s defense remains elite, and the rumors are persistent that he is sought-after by other teams.
Ryan Feltner — RHP (3.071)
Projected salary: $2.3 million
Last season found Feltner mostly sidelined due to injuries. The potential, though, is clearly there, and he is an intriguing piece for a Rockies team desperate for starting pitching.
Tyler Freeman — UTIL (3.046)
Projected salary: $1.8 million
Freeman was valuable on offense but less so on defense. One of the biggest questions surrounding him is how president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta will choose to deploy him on the 2026 roster.
Jimmy Herget — RHP (4.069)
Projected salary: $4.2 million
If there was any good surprises in 2026, it was Jimmy Herget, who finished with an exceptional season.
Like Bernadino, Herget was durable and appeared in 59 games, earning a 2.48 ERA. There are rumors about stretching Herget out and altering his reliever role.
Mickey Moniak — OF (4.027)
Projected salary: $4.2 million
Moniak was most successful in 2025 when he faced right-handed pitchers at Coors Field and had a career year. He is expected to make the highest salary in arbitration.
Closing thoughts
Because arbitration hearings can become contentious, teams like to avoid them. In fact, the Rockies have only have five in their history with the most recent involving Tony Wolters in 2020. (Wolters was not successful.)
It’s worth noting that last season, Mickey Moniak and the Los Angeles Angels were unable to settle on an amount, which led to an arbitration hearing. Moniak ultimately won, and you may read more about that here. Then the Angels released the outfielder, setting the stage for the Rockies era of his career.
However, it’s a new day at 20th and Blake, and no one really has a sense of how DePodesta and his new team will approach the arbitration deadline.
Now that DePodesta has his staff in place, it’s time to look to how he will build and develop a roster.
It’s going to be an interesting spring.
Moving on
Orlando Arcia has signed an MiLB contract with the Minnesota Twins:
Here’s wishing him all the best as he heads further north.
Mets-Rockies Trade Idea Sends Former No.1 Overall Draft Pick to Queens | HeavySports.com
I am not sure what kind of publication HeavySports is, but this theoretical deal would send Mickey Moniak to the New York Mets for Brandon Sproat and A.J. Ewing. I am confident Paul DePodesta would take that trade in a New York minute. (Granted, the Mets have moved a lot of outfielders this offseason, but the trade outlined here seems unlikely.
Predicting every MLB team’s 2026 Opening Day lineup, Version 2.0 | Bleacher Report
I have so many questions. (Also, the Rockies in this scenario sign Brandon Lowe.)
Tommy Pham makes his case for MLB’s next big metric: He calls it PhamGraphs | The Athletic ($)
This is really interesting. It in, Pham outlines what metrics are missing in evaluating player talent (e.g., the difference between playing on a winning team and a losing one; the extent to which conditions such as wind and sun affect outfield defense). I’d share a gift link if I could, but this one is worth your time.
Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!
