What Did the Colorado Rockies Gain in Signing Thairo Estrada?

Back on December 10, 2024, Mark Feinsand announced that the Colorado Rockies had signed former San Francisco Giant Thairo Estrada:

The contract would pay Estrada $3.25 million for one year with a mutual option for 2025 or a $750,000 buyout. All of this came after the Rockies decision to non-tender Gold-Glove-winning second baseman Brendan Rodgers. (He was projected to earn $5.5 million in arbitration.)

While the Rockies are clearly attempting to save money, they are also hoping for more offensive production from Estrada than they received from a disappointing Rodgers. That includes an increase in stolen bases given that Rodgers had logged only one career stolen base. (You read that correctly.)

Given that Estrada will probably be the Rockies starting second baseman, it’s worth taking a moment to consider his background and what he may bring to the team.

Can you tell us about Thairo Estrada?

I can do that.

The 28 year old is a native of Bejuma, Venezuela, and in August 2012, he signed as an international free agent with the New York Yankees. He received a signing bonus of $49,000. After that, he began working his way through the Yankees fram system.

Estrada made his MLB debut on April 21, 2019, and he recorded his first two MLB hits on April 23. That year in 28 games (64 ABs), he slashed .250/.294/.438. The Yankees began taking advantage of Estrada’s versatility using him at second base (17 games), shortstop (nine games) and the outfield (two games).

He continued with the Yankees in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, slashing an unimpressive .167/.231/.229 in 26 games. That included home home run in 48 ABs.

The Yankees designated Estrada for assignment on April 6, 2021, to make roster space for Rougned Odor.

Five days later, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants for cash considerations.

After starting with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, Estrada was called up on June 6 to replace an injured Evan Longoria. Get this: In July 2 debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Estrada went 3-for-5, including a double and a grand slam. As the season continued, his defensive versatility coupled with a league-average bat and above-average sprint speed made him a valuable part of the Giants team.

From 2021-2023, Estrada appeared in 312 games, slashing .266/.320/.416. He earned a 105 wRC+, stole 45 bases, and was worth 7.4 fWAR. (Read an evaluation of his excellent 2023 season here.)

In 2024, however, he was less effective, largely due to wrist and thumb injuries. Estrada appeared on 96 games and slashed .217/.247/.343 with a 64 wRC+. He was outrighted to Sacramento on August 30 and elected free agency after the end of the season. (Sean Keane of McCovey Chronicles has more here.)

In December, he signed with the Rockies, a move that was finalized yesterday, January 8, 2025.

What Do Both Parties Gain?

It’s a deal that works well for both sides.

In Estrada, the Rockies are getting a veteran second baseman and an above-average defender. They also hope he can provide more consistent offense than they were able to get from Brendan Rodgers, including stolen bases, a part of the Rockies game that needs to improve.

In addition, they have a stop-gap player to hold down second baseman until Adael Amador is ready. Last season, Amador struggled in Double-A Hartford, and, remember, he does not turn 22 until April. With Estrada, the Rockies gain time to allow Amador to develop his game. When Amador is ready, it is relatively easy for the team to move on from Estrada.

Plus, the Rockies have begun moving Ryan Ritter from shortstop to second base, so there may be competition there in the future.

As Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt told Patrick Saunders at the Winter Meetings, ““I’m not looking to block those guys because if a couple of months into the season we see that they’re ready, then they could be moved up.”

This is a good deal for Estrada as well.

He has absolutely raked at Coors Field. Over his career, Estrada has 92 at-bats in Denver, slashing .348/.406/.565, including four home runs, six doubles, and three stolen bases (and a 179 OPS+). If he’s looking for a year to re-establish his value, Estrada could hardly do better than landing at Coors for a season.

Closing Thoughts

Clearly, the Rockies are in the midst of a very strange (and very long) rebuild. In adding Thairo Estrada, the Rockies have made a cost-effective signing that fills a very specific purpose.

They’re also betting on 2023 (not 2024) Thairo Estrada showing up at Spring Training.

Whether that happens, we’ll know soon enough.

(Yesterday, Thairo Estrada met with media via Zoom to answer questions. I’ll have more about that on Tuesday for Purple Row.)

Arbitration Update

January 9 marked the arbitration deadline with the Rockies making the following announcement:

Thomas Harding reported later that Ryan Feltner signed for $2.275 million, Austin Gomber for $6.35 million, and Justin Lawrence for $975,000.

What I’m Reading

• Noah Davis Says Goodbye to the Rockies Organization (Purple Row) — Evan Lang asked the former Rockies pitcher about what he learned while in Colorado and what he hopes to do with the Boston Red Sox.

• Company Made up of Baseball Families Ensures Players on the Move Get Their Cars to New Homes (The Athletic) — Ever wonder how baseball players move their cars after getting traded? Melissa Lockhand has the story (and it’s pretty interesting).

• MLB Has An Economic Disparity Problem; Here’s How To Fix It (Forbes) — Maury Brown digs into strategies for address the current balance between MLB team spending (and, yes, television rights are a possible part of the solution).

Closing Thoughts

Here’s hoping things are going well in your part of the world. (California friends, stay safe.)

As always, thanks for reading —

Renee

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Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball and tries to tell the stories no one else is. Find me on Bluesky at @Renee.Dechert.com.