The Rockies announced today that left-hander Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 13th, due to left shoulder inflammation. Fellow lefty Jose Quintana was reinstated from his own stint on the IL as a corresponding move.
Freeland was scheduled to start for the Rockies three days ago but he was scratched due to some tightness in his shoulder. Details on his health are still not clear but the Rockies will let him rest up for at least a few turns through the rotation.
It’s an unfortunate setback for Freeland personally. He was out to a strong start this year, with a 2.30 earned run average through his first three appearances. But beyond that, this reduces the chances of him triggering his $17MM vesting player option for 2027.
Unlocking the player option was always going to be tough, as Freeland needs to throw 170 innings this year. That’s a mark he has hit only twice in his career. Way back in 2018, he got to 202 1/3 innings. His second-best season in that category was 2022, when he only barely got there, finishing at 174 2/3. Last year, a minimal stint on the IL for a back injury knocked him out for 15 days. He took the ball 31 times and logged 162 2/3 innings.
Naturally, Freeland’s best path to hitting that benchmark would be to stay healthy and pitch deep into games. Any kind of injury setback, even a small one, reduces his chances of getting to that line.
Presumably, the Rockies wouldn’t want him to trigger that option. They are rebuilding, having lost 119 games last year, and don’t have strong motivation to spend at that level on a starting pitcher. They did bolster the rotation this winter by signing some pitchers but all to notably lower salaries than that. They gave Michael Lorenzen $8MM, Quintana $6MM and Tomoyuki Sugano $5.1MM. Even if they are willing to bring back Freeland next year, it would make sense for them to prefer to negotiate a salary, as opposed to Freeland having the freedom to just lock in $17MM.
In terms of the on-field results, it’s not a huge deal in the short term. Quintana missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain but slots right into Freeland’s position in the rotation. He is taking the ball tonight, followed by Sugano, Ryan Feltner, Chase Dollander and then Lorenzen.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images