Colorado entered the offseason with a glaring vacancy at the keystone after non-tendering Brendan Rodgers last month, but they’ve managed to shore it up by agreeing to terms with Thairo Estrada on a one-year, $3.25 million contract, which also includes a mutual option for 2026. His presence provides the Rockies with a strong defender, and capable bottom-of-the-order stabilizer, while also giving the organization some extra time to let top prospect Adael Amador continue to marinate in the upper minors.
Thairo Estrada has agreed to a one-year Major League deal with the Rockies, per source.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 10, 2024
How much does Thairo Estrada benefit from Coors Field?
Estrada’s fantasy appeal increases significantly with the move to Coors Field’s high-octane offensive environment after spending the last four seasons with the division-rival Giants. The versatile soon-to-be 29-year-old infielder is coming off the worst full-season performance of his career, finishing last year with a subterranean .217/.,247/.343 triple-slash line with nine homers and two steals across 381 plate appearances. His persistent struggles might be linked to an ongoing left wrist issue, which sent him to the injured list on two separate occasions during a seven-week span from late June to mid-August. It’s worth noting that he batted .266 with 28 round-trippers and 44 stolen bases combined over the prior to seasons in San Francisco, finishing as a viable mixed-league option for fantasy managers.
The move to Colorado makes him an automatic rebound candidate for fantasy purposes, even if we’re skeptical that even a best-case scenario bounce-back campaign will amount to more than roughly 15 homers and 25 stolen bases. We’re not anticipating a ton of additional over-the-fence pop, but a return to double-digit dingers seems like a lock. Given it’s BABIP-inflating nature, Coors Field figures to boost Estrada’s batting average back into positive territory from a fantasy standpoint. He doesn’t strike out a ton and puts the ball in play a decent amount, which should translate to a couple extra singles, doubles and triples in Colorado’s spacious outfield. Perhaps the biggest variable from a fantasy perspective is whether Estrada can get back into the 20-steal stratosphere after basically not running at all in his final campaign with San Francisco.
Given the dearth of quality fantasy options at the keystone, Estrada makes sense as a late-round dart throw next spring, especially in deeper mixed leagues. He was basically un-draftable going into the offseason, but relocating to Colorado makes him a borderline top 20 range fantasy option at second base in re-draft formats somewhere in the range of Brendan Donovan, Brandon Lowe, Jonathan India, Willi Castro, Jake Cronenworth, Christopher Morel and José Caballero.
Where do the Rockies go from here?
We’ve touched on Estrada’s presence enabling the club to give top prospect Adael Amador some additional seasoning in the minors, but his presence should greatly benefit the Rockies’ pitching staff since his 28 outs above average, per Statcast metrics, represent the third-highest total at the position over the last two years. He also gives the Rockies some additional insurance at shortstop and third base as well. Colorado still has plenty of holes to address across their rebuilding roster, but there’s a decent young nucleus of talent here for fantasy purposes if Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle continue to build off last year’s breakthrough campaigns in addition to Michael Toglia emerging as a middle-of-the-order force and Nolan Jones rebounding from an injury-marred season. Estrada is likely to bat in the lower third of Colorado’s lineup, but he could wind up being a sneaky compiler for fantasy managers in the mold of a new-age Freddy Galvis. There’s zero downside to landing in Coors Field and he’s at least worthy of a speculative lottery pick in the late rounds of deeper mixed leagues.
