Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports on the Colorado Rockies strategy for staying competitive while not having to open up their wallets too wide.

• The Rockies’ success recipe is based on locking up their young, talented, promising players to sensible, preplanned deals such as the three-year, $8.3 million deal with catcher Chris Iannetta.
• Young outfielder Carlos Gonzalez should be next in line to receive a long term deal.
• Gonzalez may not get a deal similar to Troy Tulowitzki’s six-year, $31 million deal with a $15 million club option in 2014, but Gonzalez should secure a nice package.
• Gonzalez hit .320 with a .608 slugging percentage in the second half of 2009 with 11 home runs in his final 44 games.
• The Rockies have had a history of being proactive in signing their young and talented players such as Ubaldo Jimenez, Manuel Corpas, Brad Hawpe, Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis so they should do the same for Carlos Gonzalez.
• You can see Carlos Gonzelez’s contract and statistic history here.