DENVER — First, the Rockies got Antonio Senzatela locked down.

A few hours later, they re-signed CJ Cron. Then came extensions for Elias Díaz and Ryan McMahon, plus a massive seven-year deal with Kris Bryant. And now, they’ll have Kyle Freeland in Purple until at least 2026.

The hometown kid isn’t going anywhere.

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Freeland signed a five-year, $64.5 million extension with the Rockies on Tuesday, a source said. It includes a sixth-year player option that is contingent of him 170 innings in his fifth year. The deal is the largest monetary amount awarded to a Rockies’ pitcher since Mike Hampton got a $121 million contract in 2000.

“Kyle is a Rockie, and he should be for a long time,” manager Bud Black said. “I’m thrilled for Kyle and his family. I’m thrilled for us. I’m thrilled for the fans. It’s a great day in Denver for all of us.”

Talks began a year ago — after general manager Bill Schmidt replaced Jeff Bridich — but stalled because of the lockout. The Rockies and Freeland were heading to an arbitration hearing, but this deal eliminates the need for that. This extension covers the final two arbitration years and three years of free agency.

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In a normal year, the hearing would have been held during spring training, but, due to the lockout, the schedule was pushed. Assistant general manager Zack Rosenthal said they were working towards this regardless of what happened next month in the hearing, and Freeland not having a contract to start the season did not rush them. Freeland will make $7 million this year, in the middle of what both sides were asking for in arbitration.

“We just tried to look at it through a basic lens, what’s the right thing to do for the club in the short term and the long term,” Rosenthal said.

Schmidt made locking down their key pieces a priority when he took over the team. Team president Greg Feasel also said last year that they were committed to increasing their payroll after  their opening day payroll in 2021 was $40 million lower than in 2019.

This year will still be tainted by the two players they couldn’t keep  —  Trevor Story and Jon Gray, who now play for the Red Sox and Rangers respectively. But Schmidt has made an effort to now sign all of the players that logically were in need of an extension. They’ve spent $396 million on the six deals, already increasing their payroll by $100 million for 2023.

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It’s comparable to how the Rockies handled their core group in the late 2000s, when they committed $111.7 million in extensions to Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Troy Tulowitzki, Manuel Corpas, Brad Hawpe and Ubaldo Jimenéz in a three-year span. That group made the playoffs twice, including the Rockies only World Series appearance in 2007.

“It’s about our guys,” Rosenthal said. “We draft, develop them and then build around the right group of guys. Obviously guys that know each other and blend together is the whole thing, and then supplement that with young players and free agents when you need to.”

Most notably, the Rockies’ core four of their rotation — Germán Márquez, Austin Gomber, Senzatela and Freeland — are now locked up through at least the 2024 season, an important factor for the Rockies as they try to contend.

“I’m so happy for him, he deserves it,” Márquez said. “These years are going to be great.”