Rockies Avoid Arb With Wilton Lopez, Josh Outman

The Rockies have avoided arbitration with right-hander Wilton Lopez and left-hander Josh Outman by agreeing to one-year contracts with both pitchers, MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports (via Twitter).  Lopez's deal will pay him just over $1.76MM while Outman will earn $675K, a source tells Troy Renck of the Denver Post.

Lopez, acquired in a December trade with the Astros, posted a 2.17 ERA, a 7.3 K/9 rate, a 6.75 K/BB ratio and a 55% groundball rate in 64 games with Houston in 2012.  Lopez, 29, was projected by MLBTR's Matt Swartz to earn $1.4MM in his first time through the arbitration process.  Lopez is represented by the Legacy Agency.

Outman was also arb-eligible for the first time and was seen as a non-tender candidate by MLBTR's Tim Dierkes given Outman's 8.19 ERA in 27 games (seven of them starts) for the Rockies in 2012.  Outman did post an 8.9 K/9 — along with a 4.4 BB/9 and 10.4 H/9 — and pitched well for Oakland in three previous seasons, so $675K was a reasonable price for a Rockies team that is desperate for pitching.  Swartz projected Outman would earn $600K through arbitration.  Outman is represented by Turner Gary Sports. 

Jhoulys Chacin, Tyler Colvin, Dexter Fowler and Jonathan Herrera are Colorado's four remaining arb-eligible players.  You can follow the progress of their deals and more on MLBTR's ArbTracker.