Rockies Slugger Matt Holliday Signs 2-Year Deal Worth $23 Million to Stay with the National League Champs

Rockies slugger Matt Holliday signs 2-year deal worth $23 million to stay with the National League champs: After a successful season in which Matt Holliday finished second in the National League Most Valuable Player voting and led his team to the World Series, Holliday was rewarded with a 2-year deal worth $23 million. Holliday's deal will pay him $9.5 million in 2008 and $13.5 million in 2009, according to the AP.

In 2007, Matt Holliday emerged as one of the best outfielders in major league baseball. He finished the 2007 season with a .340 average, 36 home runs and 137 Runs Batted In. He would end up finishing second in the MVP balloting to Philadelphia shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

The resigning of Matt Holliday marks the second outfielder that the Colorado Rockies that they have resigned. They had resigned Willy Taveras to a one year deal worth almost $2 million.

So does the resigning of Matt Holliday make the Rockies a contender once again? The Rockies will definitely be competitive this year since they have all of their main players returning from last season. They have a solid core of young players including Brad Hawpe who is every bit as good as Matt Holliday. The Rockies ended last season on a tear and on that string of momentum, made it into the World Series.

However, this past off-season the Arizona Diamondbacks got much better in trading for Oakland Athletic's ace Dan Haren who led the American League with the lowest Earned Run Average. Haren will be teamed with Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb to become the best starting pitcher tandem in baseball. The Diamondbacks also have a young team returning that will only get better with more games played.

The National League is still a far weaker league than the American League which boasts powerhouse clubs with payrolls over $100 million. The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers all got better or stayed the same in terms of talent level and payroll this off-season. The Cleveland Indians will also be returning a very good team as well.

However, in the National League, there is no reason why the Rockies can't remain competitive especially since the National League isn't that good. On paper, the only team better than the Rockies will be the Diamondbacks and possibly the New York Mets. However, the Mets have pitching issues although they will have a deep lineup led by David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. The Phillies will be returning a good team and added closer Brad Lidge this past off-season.

Overall, this is a great move for the Colorado Rockies and Holliday only figures to get better.

Source:

Associated Press