ESPN
Left-hander
Kyle Freeland and the
Colorado Rockies are in agreement on a five-year, $64.5 million contract that includes a sixth-year player option, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.
The contract ties the 28-year-old Freeland to his hometown team through at least the 2026 season and will guarantee him the most money for a Rockies pitcher since they signed Mike Hampton to a $121 million deal more than two decades ago.
The Rockies announced Freeland's extension Tuesday but did not disclose financial terms.
Freeland is the third starter Colorado has given a long-term deal in recent years. Right-hander
German Marquez in 2019 signed a five-year, $43 million deal that includes a club option for 2024, and right-hander
Antonio Senzatela received a five-year, $50.5 million contract with a club option for 2027 over the winter. The Rockies also extended third baseman
Ryan McMahon for six years and $70 million in March.
At 7-3, Colorado is tied for the third-best record in Major League Baseball but still behind the 8-2
Los Angeles Dodgers and the 7-2
San Francisco Giants entering Tuesday's games.
Freeland's best season came in 2018, when he finished with a 2.85 ERA over 202⅓ innings and finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting. He struggled the next season, and he has been consistent since, with 4.33 ERAs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season as well as over 120⅔ innings last year, when he missed the season's first two months with a shoulder injury.
His recovery, as well as his final 18 starts in which he posted a 3.24 ERA over 100 innings, convinced the Rockies he was worth lavishing more than $80 million guaranteed. The team chose Freeland with the eighth overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft, and he has been a staple in its rotation since debuting in 2017.
"He's pitching well here. He's comfortable here,'' Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters Tuesday before Freeland was slated to start against the Phillies. "There's something to growing up here. ... It doesn't bother him. I've seen pitchers in my career be bothered by it. He's not.''
Freeland was due to hit free agency following the 2023 season. His 2022 salary had not yet been determined, with the Rockies offering $6.425 million and Freeland asking for $7.8 million in arbitration.
In his first two starts this season, Freeland posted a 10.00 ERA, allowing 14 hits and four walks in nine innings with seven strikeouts.
With Freeland, Marquez, Senzatela, McMahon,
Kris Bryant,
C.J. Cron,
Randal Grichuk and
Elias Diaz all under contract for next season and $16 million due to help cover the salary of traded star third baseman
Nolan Arenado, the Rockies already have a payroll in excess of $100 million for next season.
