The Rockies gamble $64.5 million on Kyle Freeland’s revival
Apr 20, 2022, 6:37 AM
After his first two major league seasons, Colorado native Kyle Freeland became the homegrown pitching star that the Rockies had craved since their inception in 1993. Following an impressive, 11-11 season with a 4.10 ERA that led him to a seventh-place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting, Freeland’s follow-up was nothing less than spectacular.
In 2018, Freeland went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA, astounding numbers for a hurler that pitched half his games at altitude in Coors Field. Then only 25, Freeland finished fourth in the senior circuit’s Cy Young Award voting, and it appeared that the sky was the limit for the local lefty after striking out 173 batters in 202.1 innings of work. It wasn’t to be.
Over the next three seasons, however, Freeland only pitched a total of 295 innings to the tune of a 12-22 record and an awful 5.17 ERA. Injuries took their toll, but Freeland persevered, and the Rockies were willing to wait for him to return to form.
In truth, it’s not as if they had a choice. The Rockies’ farm system was barren, with no significant prospects anywhere close to the major-league level, and as the organization trotted out failed candidate after failed candidate, the only option was to wait for Freeland to return to health — and hope that his form returned with him.
After starting this season 0-2 with a sky-high 10.00 ERA, general manager Bill Schmidt and the Rockies had decided that they’d seen enough. They didn’t decide to give up on Freeland, but rather to reward him with a five-year, $64.5 million contract that would give Freeland the team’s largest financial guarantee to a pitcher since the disastrous, $121 million signing of Mike Hampton nearly 22 years prior.
“Kyle has been a steady part of this rotation since his debut and we are excited to have him in a Rockies uniform for at least the next five seasons,” Schmidt said, in a statement released by the team.
The two sides were set to go to arbitration in a matter of weeks, which certainly accelerated the process. Freeland submitted a request for $7.8 million, while the Rockies countered with $6.4. In the end, the Rockies committed to an average annual salary that, shockingly, represents almost the total of both of the offers combined. That’s not often how these things work, but then again, no team works quite like the Rockies.
Obviously, the contract is a gamble; Freeland has yet to regain his form from 2018, despite being less than a month away from his 29th birthday. It’s also probably an overpayment — and perhaps a significant one — but the Rockies farm system is still as bereft of prospects as it was in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Former first-round draft pick Jon Gray jetted off to the Texas Rangers as a free agent as soon as he was able in the offseason. And the Rockies, now a generation removed from the Hampton signing, have still shown no interest in spending big to bring another significant starting pitcher to Denver. So they rolled the dice, but at least they feel like they’re paying a player who deserved the rich reward.
“He pitches well here. He’s comfortable here,” manager Bud Black said during March’s abbreviated spring training. “And there’s something to growing up here, pitching where we play. It doesn’t bother him.”
On Monday, however, prior to Freeland’s Tuesday start against the Phillies, Black was crystal clear regarding where his starter needed to improve.
“For Kyle, it comes down to consistently making good pitches,” Black said. That’s true for any pitcher, but for a soft-tosser in Coors Field, it’s nothing less than absolutely necessary. Freeland’s pitch metrics have stayed more or less stable, giving mathematical credence to the notion that his brilliant 2018 season was a statistical outlier, and not an indication of what the Rockies certainly hope will represent the seasons he’ll have going forward. Nearly 52 percent of the balls hit in his first three games this season have left the opponents’ bat at 95 miles per hour or higher; an alarming number that suggests that when Freeland is missing his spots, he’s missing them badly — and hitters have been taking advantage.
Despite his better start in the Rockies’ eventual 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night, Freeland still didn’t impress, benefitting from more than a little bit of good fortune on a double play that Kyle Schwarber grounded into and a rocket from Jean Segura that was hit right at center fielder Randal Grichuk. Freeland pitched five innings and allowed two earned runs while scattering six hits and striking out three. He didn’t factor into the decision, but lowered his ERA to a still-awful 7.71.
“Those things will turn, with time. Luck comes in waves,” Freeland said on Monday, prior to his start. “You just have to keep riding it until you are in the clear.”
Freeland’s already in the clear, financially-speaking — fully-guaranteed $64.5 million will do that for you — but the competitive fire is still there. Freeland wants and expects to return to his 2018 form with the team that he grew up cheering for.
“I thought the stuff I was doing in ’18 would carry over for the rest of my career,” Freeland told The Denver Post earlier this month. “It was a slice of humble pie that was force-fed to me, and I had to eat it.”
Despite his bumpy start to the season, Freeland’s signing is a commitment from both directions. The Rockies have spent on their own players this season (Ryan McMahon; five years/$70 million) and in free agency (Kris Bryant; seven years/$182 million), and in Freeland’s case, it’s also an admission that he wants to be part of the Rockies’ revival that may be occurring after a stunning 8-3 start to the 2022 campaign.
That isn’t lost on franchise ace and longtime teammate German Marquez.
“Everyone wants to be here and win,” Marquez said on Tuesday, after Freeland’s new contract was announced. “We started here together (in 2017, along with starter Antonio Senzatela) and he’s going to be here six more years. He’s an amazing guy; an amazing pitcher. He deserved to get it.”
Now, the question for the Rockies is simple: wWat will Freeland do with it? His next start — a rematch with the Phillies in Philadelphia — is scheduled for next Monday.
***
