The Rockies and Kyle Freeland agree to extension

3:52 pm: Daniel Allentock of the Colorado Springs Gazette reported (on Twitter) that Freeland needs to hit 170 innings in 2026 to qualify for the 2027 option. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports the complete meltdown (Twitter link). Freeland will earn $7 million this season, $10.5 million in 2023, $15 million in 2024, and then $16 million annually between 2025-26.

3:25 pm: It’s a $17 million player accrual option, according to John Heyman of the New York Post (on Twitter). Ken Rosenthal reports from Athletic (Twitter link) that Freeland could also trigger a no-participation clause after the 2024 season by finishing in the top five on the Cy Young ballot in either of the next two seasons.

3:14 pm: Rocky agrees with the left Kyle Freeland on a five-year, $64.5 million contract extension, according to ESPN’s Jeff Bassan (Twitter link). The deal also contains a player option for the sixth season. Freeland was under control through a 2023 arbitration, so the deal buys three years a free agent.

Obviously the deal came together quickly, like Freeland Tell Nick Grok of Athletic Just last week there was “no move” on an extension and that the club had not made an offer. Within a few days, he and the team agreed on a long-term deal that would keep him for at least three more seasons. It’s certainly a particularly cool development for Freeland, a Denver native and a permanent member of the organization.

Colorado selected Freeland with the eighth overall selection for the 2014 draft from the University of Evansville. He was seen at the time as a potential mid-turn starting player who could move through minors quickly based on his refined throwing ability. This drop proved to be the case somewhat, as he was in the majors two and a half years later after doing well in the minors.

Vreeland immediately climbed into the Colorado tournament, starting in 28 games out of 33 as a rookie. He scored a 4.10 ERA in 156 innings that season, beating an average strike rate of 15.6% with an excellent ballpark percentage of 53.9%. This was followed by Southpaw’s fantastic sophomore campaign which has been the best season of his career thus far. He started 33 times and threw 202 innings 1/3 in 2017, scoring 2.85 ERA despite starting 15 games on the league’s friendliest court. This tag still stands as minimum A one-season era for a qualified starter in Rockies history, provides plenty of evidence that Freeland can thrive despite the environmental challenges inherent in the Colorado pitcher.

Four years later, Rox is supposedly still focused a lot on the 2018 show. Freeland struggled hard in 2019, allowing for a 6.73 ERA. Colorado even picked him up on Triple-A Albuquerque for a month and a half that year. Over the past two seasons, he’s been solid but not astonishing, scoring a matching 4.33 ERA in both 2020 and 2021.

Freeland’s overall profile – few hits or whiffs offset by plenty of grounding and extra control – hasn’t changed much throughout his time in the majors. However, since his stellar performance in 2018, he owns a 5.32 ERA in 304 2/3 runs (including two rounds so far in 2022). Colorado certainly considers the 2019 season strange, but even going back to the start of 2020, Freeland’s 200 1/3 rounds of 4.58 ERA/4.65 FIP are better than exceptional.

The Rocky clearly believes that the 28-year-old Southbow (next month 29) is capable of returning to something closer to his early professional form. It’s a continuation of a pattern for General Manager Bill Schmidt and his staff, who have worked hard to keep many of the team’s veterans long-term. For the past eight months, Colorado has worked on multi-year extensions with Antonio CinzatellaAnd Elias DiazAnd CJ CrohnAnd Ryan McMahon And now Freeland. These players join the free agent pickup Chris Bryant and staff Germain Marquez As a long-term core in Denver.

Marquez, Senzatella and Vreeland are all under the club’s control until at least 2024, forming the core of the rotation that Rocks undoubtedly envisions as the club’s backbone. October Senzatella extension Five-year $50.5 million warranty that includes Club 2027 option – is the latest entry-level deal with a service life of four to five years. Freeland’s deal trumps that of his teammate even though he is almost two years older than him and has been less effective over the past two years. Freeland and Senzatella are stylistically similar pitchers, but the former has been more prone to home run and has about one-tenth of a higher pitch (4.33 for Freeland, 4.11 for Senzatella) dating back to the beginning of 2020.

More is coming.