Nolan Arenado is well worth the extension he received

The Colorado Rockies inked third baseman Nolan Arenado to an 8-year deal worth upwards of $255 million on Tuesday, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal has an opt-out option after three years and is reportedly the largest per-year salary in baseball history. He will be eligible for free agency again following the 2021 season and the deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

In the past four seasons, Arenado has been an All-Star and also been in the top ten in the National League Most Valuable Player voting. Guys like Alex Bregman, Kris Bryant, Jose Ramirez, Justin Turner and Matt Carpenter are all great third basemen. Arenado is one of those guys that can be argued as better than all of the above. Arenado's consistency and ability to stay healthy makes him well worth the money he will be receiving in this deal.

In six major league seasons, Arenado has a .291 career batting average and in his past five seasons, he has not hit below the .287 mark. Arenado has also led the National League in homers in three of the past four years (2015, 2016, and 2018).

But it does not just stop at the plate when it comes to Arenado's value to the Rockies. Arenado has also won a Gold Glove every year in the major leagues. Arenado owns a career WAR of 33.1 across those six career seasons.

The Rockies bounced the Chicago Cubs last season in the National League Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Arenado's tremendous play on each side of the field definitely was a large contributing factor to Colorado's successes. Arenado is the model of consistency and great play at third base for the Rockies.

For all of the above reasons, Arenado is well worth the extension he received and earned on Tuesday. The Rockies success revolves around Arenado and his performance both at the plate and at the hot corner. Based off of his recent years, barring any sort of large-scale injury, Arenado will continue to be an enormous factor in the success of the Rockies franchise.