Next year’s crop of free-agent stars may get signed before this year’s.

As the Manny Machado and Bryce Harper watch slogs on, the Rockies are being proactive with their own pending free agent. They do not want Nolan Arenado to hit the open market and said they are getting close to a long-term agreement.

“I think we’ve gotten it to the point where we’re to the finals,” Colorado owner Dick Monfort told MLB.com on Sunday. “We’re to the crescendo.”

Monfort would not disclose what the terms were looking like, but the Rockies just secured Arenado for this season on a one-year, $26 million deal to avoid arbitration. The next step is locking him up for the long haul, about which Monfort is optimistic.

The prize of next offseason’s free agency not actually hitting free agency could be a blow to the Yankees, who prefer Arenado to Machado, The Post’s Joel Sherman has reported.

The 27-year-old is a two-way superstar, a six-time Gold Glove winner and four-time Silver Slugger winner. Arenado has made four straight All-Star Games and last year batted .297 with 38 home runs and 110 RBIs — actually a slightly down year for the sixth-year third baseman. And he would come with none of the baggage that now follows Machado around following last season’s postseason.

The Yankees have Miguel Andujar at third, a somewhat polarizing player entering his sophomore season. Last year he finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting but also was a defensive liability. He batted .297 with 92 RBIs, but also posted a lackluster .328 on-base percentage.