Yes, it probably cost the Rockies less money in the long run to lock up Tulo and CarGo now, before they hit free agency/arbitration. However, by locking up that much money ($214 million) in just two players for the next 7 seasons, they severely limit what they can do in free agency and with the rest of their staff. On average, just those two guys will be making over $20 million a season, while the remaining 38 players on the active roster make about $70 million. How are you going to fit a couple more $5-10 mil per season deals into that without significantly raising your payroll?