DALLAS -- The Rockies are counting on a bounce-back offensive performance and continued speed and defense from second baseman Thairo Estrada, who agreed to a one-year contract with the team, a source told MLB.com¡¯s Mark Feinsand on Tuesday. The club has not confirmed the agreement.

Estrada, 28, will earn $3.25 million with the Rockies in 2025 with a mutual option for 2026 that contains a $750,000 buyout, making it a $4 million guarantee, per a source. If the option isn¡¯t exercised, Estrada will still be arbitration-eligible for the final time in 2026. The deal is pending a physical.

The club brought in Estrada to replace 2022 Gold Glove winner Brendan Rodgers, who was non-tendered after the 2024 season. A rebound from wrist and thumb injuries suffered last season could make Estrada -- who batted .217 with a .590 OPS in 96 games last year before he was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 30 -- a boon to a club that has finished in triple-figures in losses the past two seasons.

The Rockies hope for the offense that Estrada provided from 2021 to 2023 -- when he had a .266 average and a .736 OPS over 312 games. Estrada hit 14 homers and stole at least 20 bases in 2022 and ¡®23. Manager Bud Black has said the club would like to be more aggressive on the basepaths moving forward.

Coors Field may be the place for Estrada to rebound. In 24 career games in Denver, Estrada has a .348/.406/.565 slash line, and his four homers are his most at any venue other than San Francisco¡¯s Oracle Park. In 39 career games against the Rockies, Estrada bested his new team to the tune of a .345 average with seven home runs and 33 RBIs.

Estrada, who debuted with the Yankees in 2019 before being sent to the Giants for cash considerations on April 11, 2021, fits with a quietly strong Rockies defense. His 28 outs above average at second base since the beginning of 2023 mark the third-highest total at the position over that time frame.

In the middle, Estrada joins shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who won a Gold Glove as a second-year player in 2024, and center fielder Brenton Doyle, who has won Gold Gloves each of his first two Major League seasons. Additionally, third baseman Ryan McMahon is a four-time Gold Glove finalist, and the Rockies believe first baseman Michael Toglia has Gold Glove potential.

Having Estrada means development time for two prospects -- switch-hitting Adael Amador (ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Rockies' No. 5 prospect), who is expected to return to Double-A Hartford after an oblique injury and some learning experiences in 2024, and Ryan Ritter (No. 12), who is coming off a solid season in Hartford and in the Arizona Fall League and is expected to start ¡®25 with Triple-A Albuquerque.

Rockies an early suitor for Sasaki
Often forced to be creative when pursuing free-agent pitching, the Rockies were one of the first three teams to call in pursuit of hard-throwing right-hander Roki Sasaki, agent Joel Wolfe told Denver media on Tuesday.

Sasaki, 23, considered the No. 1 international prospect for 2024 and 2025, was posted for MLB teams by the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball. In four seasons with Chiba Lotte, Sasaki has compiled a 2.02 ERA, an 11.4 K/9 ratio and a 2.0 BB/9 rate while allowing just 6.0 hits per nine innings.

Boasting a fastball clocked at more than 100 mph and a devastating split-finger pitch, Sasaki made a big splash on the international stage by striking out 11 over 7 2/3 innings in the 2023 World Baseball Classic on a Japan staff that included Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Because Sasaki is under 25 years old and with less than six years¡¯ experience in a foreign league recognized by MLB, he is subject to the same rules as international amateur prospects. That means his signing is governed by international bonus pool restrictions, and he can be signed only to a Minor League contract. Such regulations put the Rockies on a more even playing field with other clubs.

Under such a system, the Angels signed Shohei Ohtani in 2017 for a bonus of $2.3 million. With veteran free agents rarely smiling upon the Rockies, their pursuit of Sasaki is more akin to spending on a high Draft pick.