Carlos Gonzalez Contract Made Official On Tuesday

It's official, Carlos Gonzalez has inked a 7-year, $80M contract with the Colorado Rockies which will leave the 3-4 of Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki with Colorado through 2017.

There was a lot said at the press conference today.

We gathered that the ownership was surprised the deal got done. We find that Carlos Gonzalez puts a lot of value on family, and that he considers the Rockies his family. And loves it here. He loves the city, loves his teammates, loves the Rockies. Hell, he might even move here. He's felt at home here since day 1.

He cites the organization as giving him loads of confidence. Scott Boras said that deals like this don't happen unless the player is convinced the team is going to win.

Dan O'Dowd loves having him here, as he is the type of player that leaves you in awe. That Gonzalez really gets it, that he understands the concept of Team. He doesn't feel that the contract is going to be a burden on him, and Gonzalez can just focus on playing now.

A lot of onus was placed on Tulowitzki. Tulo's contract had some bearing on Gonzalez' decision to sign here. They have the same mindset, they know they want to be champions.

There's a lot to digest here. It's kind of odd to put together. There's apprehension at the risk and length of the contract. There's concern regarding splits and walk rates and stats. There's excitement that the two biggest players since Walker and Bichette are going to be here long term.

Venezuelan beatwriter Augusto Cardenas breaks down the terms of the contract:

CarGo will receive a $3MM signing bonus;$1M in 2011;$5MM in 2012;$7.5MM in 2013;$10.5MM in 2014;$16MM in 2015; $17MM in 2016 & $20MM in 2017

CarGo will earn an extra $25 thousand for All Star & Gold Glove; $50K for Silver Slugger; $75K for MVP LCS & $100K for WS MVP and league MVP

CarGo doesn't have a no trade clause, but wil get $1 million each time if he is traded

Matt Muzia adds some context to the CarGo contract, showing how it times out relative to Tulowitzki's contract and Helton's contract.

Everything there looks somewhat standard, even shrewd. But the part I found interesting was the $1M bonus for every time Gonzalez is traded. It really seems that being traded twice got into Gonzalez' head. I guess he was just looking for somewhere to belong.

It's hard not to be excited about this kind of stuff. Knowing your players are likely your players for the foreseeable future. It's a good thing. Be excited, Cargo. Be excited, Rockies fans.