The Colorado Rockies made a surprising move yesterday, when they announced a contract extension with one of their starting pitchers.
The Rox and left-hander Kyle Freeland announced a five-year, $64.5 million pact with a player option for a sixth season.
Colorado locked up the talented, yet slightly inconsistent 28-year-old for his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility and the first three campaigns of free agency.
Since the start of the 2020 season, Freeland has a decent 4.58 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and 7.1 K/9 in 200 1/3 innings (38 starts).
Those are actually very decent numbers if we consider the fact he pitches in perhaps the most hitter-friendly park in the United States: Coors Field.
Denver’s altitude makes the air very thin and, well, the ball travels fast.
Freeland, however, has a career 3.96 ERA away from Coors Field, which is very solid.
The Rockies are banking on Freeman keeping up a similar performance level for the next five years.
He Is Excited To Be In Colorado For The Future
He is apparently very happy about committing his future to the Rockies.
“Kyle Freeland couldn’t be happier with how his journey has panned out with the #Rockies,” DNVR Rockies tweeted on Wednesday, a day after the agreement was announced.
Kyle Freeland couldn’t be happier with how his journey has panned out with the #Rockies pic.twitter.com/OoOQ4z6Lfg
— DNVR Rockies (@DNVR_Rockies) April 20, 2022
Freeman is a Denver native, so he is, quite literally, home for the foreseeable future.
“You can’t script it any better than this,” he is quoted as saying.
It’s fair to say he is content with his role with the team and his contract.
After conceding two runs in five innings on Tuesday, his ERA for the season came down to 7.71 in 14 innings.
He was battered in his first two appearances, but has shown recently that he can offer stable, solid pitching and is quite durable.
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