A month after the initial reporting of the agreement, the Colorado Rockies have finalized and officially announced they have signed second baseman Thairo Estrada to a one-year, $3.25 million deal with a mutual option for 2026 that contains a $750,000 buyout, making it a $4 million guarantee. If the option isn’t exercised, Estrada will be eligible for arbitration one final time for 2026.

Estrada, 29 in February, first arrived on the scene with the New York Yankees in 2019 before truly making a name for himself following a trade to the San Francisco Giants before the 2021 season. Over his four seasons with the Giants, Estrada batted .254/.303/.398 with a 96 OPS+ in 408 games with 44 home runs and 180 RB alongside 47 stolen bases. However, most of that production came in 2022 and 2023 where in over 312 games he slashed .266/.320/.416 with a 105 wRC+, 45 stolen bases, and 4.0 rWAR.

2024 was a year plagued by injury and ineffectiveness as Estrada was limited to 96 games and batted a meager .217/.247/.343 with nine home runs. He suffered two stints on the injured list due to wrist injuries and likely spent most of the year dealing with other ailments that had a detrimental effect on his offensive production. Despite his defensive capabilities, the Giants couldn’t justify giving him playing time and outrighted him to Triple-A at the end of August, allowing Estrada to become a free agent at the end of the season.

After the non-tendering of Brendan Rodgers earlier this offseason, the Rockies are hoping that Estrada can be a boon for the club on both sides of the ball after back-to-back 100-loss seasons. Should Estrada return to the offensive form seen from 2021-23, the Rockies will certainly be happy with that type of production where he had a .266 average and a .736 OPS over 312 games. He also hit 14 homers and stole at least 20 bases in 2022 and ‘23 which falls in line with manager Bud Black’s desire to have the team be more aggressive on the basepaths. Estrada’s speed starkly contrasts to previous incumbent Rodgers who has one stolen base in his career.

The team is also hoping that Estrada can continue to benefit from a history of raking at Coors Field. In 24 career games in Denver, Estrada has a .348/.406/.565 slash line and his four homers are his most at any venue other than San Francisco’s Oracle Park. In 39 career games against the Rockies, he has a .345 average with seven home runs and 33 RBIs.

Defensively, he has proven to be quite capable at second base as his 28 outs above average since the beginning of 2023 mark the third-highest total at the position over that time frame. He will slot in nicely with 2024 Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar up the middle to go along with Gold Glove finalist Ryan McMahon at third base and Gold Glove hopeful Michael Toglia at first base. Boosted by two-time Gold Glover Brenton Doyle in center field, the Rockies are again aiming for a strong defensive campaign in 2025.

Estrada’s presence provides more development time for top prospects like the switch-hitting Adael Amador (Rockies’ No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline) and Ryan Ritter (No. 12). Amador had a trying 2024 season and will likely start the year in Double-A Hartford after making a brief debut with the big league club last season and suffering an oblique injury. Ritter also saw his season shortened by an injury, but had a strong year in Double-A and performed well in the Arizona Fall League, and could start the year in Triple-A Albuquerque.

The deal marks the finalization of one of the Rockies’ two major free-agent acquisitions, having signed veteran infielder Kyle Farmer to a similar deal earlier this winter. Farmer is believed to be taking on more of a utility role while Estrada will serve as the primary second baseman. The Rockies have been busy on the minor league contract market and while they have an interest in adding an experienced arm to the bullpen, they aren’t expected to add much more offensively to the squad.