The thing with Arenado will be his desire to play on a perennial contender. So the challenge wouldn't just be the 200-300M to keep him, but whatever $$ it takes to retain the players to keep this team a perennial contender. We all know the teams that can afford that and it ain't the Rockies. Maybe the way to keep him, at least temporarily, would a long term deal with an opt out after 3 or 4 years?

If the Rockies contention window is really the next 3 years that might work for both parties. And if that's the case then I think the Rockies should up the short term ante by trading for a big time first baseman, which has been a huge hole since the Helton era. Gotta think Jose Abreu could be available for the right mix of young major/minor league players, as the Sox still seem to be rebuilding.