John Curtiss Elects Free Agency

May 31: Curtiss rejected the assignment and instead elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com.

May 30: The Rockies have sent right-hander John Curtiss outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not yet clear if he has chosen to do so.

Curtiss, 31, was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason. He didn’t crack the Opening Day roster, reporting to Albuquerque for some work there. He tossed 21 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League with a 6.75 earned run average. His 7.1% walk rate was solid but he only struck out 18.2% of batters faced and was hurt by an unfortunately low 57.8% strand rate.

Despite that fairly shaky performance, the Rockies called him up last week. They had played two straight extra-inning games and needed some fresh arms. In Saturday’s game against the Phillies, Curtiss relieved Justin Lawrence with two out in the ninth inning after the latter had blown a save. With the Rockies down 4-3 and with two men on base, Curtiss was brought in to face Bryce Harper and allowed a three-run homer. He then allowed an Alec Bohm double and a Nick Castellanos single, with Castellanos thrown out at second to finally end the inning after Bohm had scored.

Colorado needed pitching reinforcements again a couple of days later and designated Curtiss for assignment, leaving him currently sporting an ugly ERA of 54.00, thanks to him having allowed two earned runs while only recording one out.

Players with more than three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Curtiss would qualify on both counts and may choose to exercise that right. He had a solid run in 2020 and 2021 before Tommy John surgery put him out of action, and he hasn’t really had an extended chance to establish himself since then.

He tossed 69 1/3 innings with a 2.86 ERA over 2020 and 2021, spending time with the Rays, Marlins and Brewers. He struck out 24.1% of batters faced and only gave out walks at a 5.2% clip. He went under the knife in September of 2021 and missed all of 2022. With the Mets last year, he tossed 19 2/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA and a diminished 19.8% strikeout rate.

The Rockies organization is a tough spot for a guy looking to re-establish himself, given the hitter-friendly nature of both Coors Field and the PCL, but Curtiss may not have had many options this winter after a long injury absence and underwhelming return. Now that the season is a third of the way through and several clubs are dealing with mounting injuries to their pitching staffs, Curtiss might be interested in pursuing opportunities elsewhere.