Colorado Rockies Signing Veteran Infielder Thairo Estrada to 1-Year Contract

Thairo Estrada will join forces with Kyle Farmer to help the Colorado Rockies replace Brendan Rodgers' production at second base in 2025, all in an attempt to bounce back from a rough 2024 with the San Francisco Giants.
Jun 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada (39) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field.
Jun 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; San Francisco Giants second baseman Thairo Estrada (39) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies have agreed to sign second baseman Thairo Estrada to a one-year contract, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand was first to report Tuesday.

Estrada, 28, got waived by the San Francisco Giants in August. At the time, he had been hitting .217 with a .590 OPS and -0.5 WAR while battling through hamstring, thumb and wrist injuries.

Per Feinsand, Estrada's 2025 salary will come in at $3.25 million. The former New York Yankees top prospect has a mutual option for 2026 with a $750K buyout, although he will become arbitration-eligible rather than a free agent if it is declined by either party.

The Rockies created an opening at second base after they elected to non-tender Brendan Rodgers last month. The 28-year-old hit .267 with a .721 OPS and a 1.1 WAR across 135 games in 2024 and won a Gold Glove in 2022, but was projected to earn somewhere between $5.5 million and $6.8 million via arbitration in 2025.

While Colorado won't be paying Estrada that much, it is worth noting that they gave 34-year-old utility man Kyle Farmer a one-year, $2.5 million deal with a $4 million mutual option and $750K buyout for 2026 soon after letting Rodgers go. So, effectively, the Rockies took the money they would have owed Rodgers and split it between Estrada and Farmer.

Between 2021 and 2023, Estrada hit .266 with a .736 OPS, averaging 18 home runs, 69 RBI, 23 stolen bases and a 2.5 WAR per 162 games. In that same span, Farmer hit .258 with a .718 OPS, averaging 16 home runs, 74 RBI, three stolen bases and a 1.7 WAR per 162 games.

Rodgers, meanwhile, hit .271 with a .751 OPS, averaging 18 home runs, 76 RBI, zero stolen bases and a 3.3 WAR per 162 games between 2021 and 2023.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.