Report: CarGo rejected 4-year extension from Rockies in spring

Last spring, before embarking on what proved to be the worst season of his career, Carlos Gonzalez - a free agent in a few weeks - reportedly rejected a four-year extension from the Colorado Rockies, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Gonzalez, a three-time All-Star who's spent virtually his entire nine-year career in Colorado, hoped to land a more lucrative deal on the open market.

Now, however, the 31-year-old will likely have to settle for a much smaller contract following a disappointing 2017 season - the last of a seven-year, $80-million deal - in which Gonzalez posted a .762 OPS with 14 homers in 136 games while managing less WAR (-0.2) than all but nine qualified hitters, according to FanGraphs. He'd been inconsistent over the past few years, too, finishing as both a below-average hitter and defender in two of the four seasons since his impressive 2013 campaign.

"I know how it feels to be a great player, and I know how it feels to be a bad player," Gonzalez said. "This game will always keep you humble. But I never lost faith. I always had everybody’s support, and that’s important when things are tough."

Though his performance tailed off in 2017, Gonzalez did look more like his old self in the second half. In 62 games following the All-Star break, he hit .314/.390/.531 with eight homers, 21 doubles, and a pair of stolen bases, finishing with the 19th-highest second-half OPS (.921) in the majors.