Rockies' Kyle Freeland Faces Emotional Possibility in Final Coors Field Start

There are not very many professional athletes who get the opportunity that Kyle Freeland has had with the Colorado Rockies.

Freeland has spent the last 10 years playing for his hometown Major League Baseball organization.

Tuesday night, he will take the mound at Coors Field as the starting pitcher against the Arizona Diamondbacks. There could be a lot more significance to this outing than just one more start.

This could be Freeland’s final game at Coors Field in a Colorado jersey. His five-year, $64.5 million contract is coming to an end. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee the organization will make the move to continue his stay.

Freeland’s Uncertain Future

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There is a $17 million player option included in his current contract that would vest if he reached 170 innings this season. With just a few games left, that is out of reach. Freeland has recorded 128.1 innings pitched this year before Tuesday’s scheduled start.

So, Colorado has a decision to make ahead of next year.

At 33, Freeland didn’t have the year he likely envisioned before the season started. He holds a 4-10 record with a 6.38 ERA and 104 strikeouts over 24 starts.

His season wasn’t without struggles; that’s for sure. He is returning from cervical radiculopathy (a pinched nerve in his neck), which has kept him sidelined since August.

Colorado selected the Denver native in the 2014 MLB Draft as the No. 8 overall pick. He was finishing his collegiate career, where he played for the University of Evansville. Fans in Denver started watching Freeland as a youngster at Thomas Jefferson High School.

When the Rockies selected him on April 7, 2017, it was a dream come true. His story had come full circle and he was getting the chance to play in the home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Nearly 10 years later, he has never pitched for another MLB team, but that could be changing.

Freeland Here for Big Moments

Colorado Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland (21) acknowledges the crowd Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The left-hander had his best season clear back in 2018 when he went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA over 202.1 innings. He finished fourth that year in the National League Cy Young Award voting.

If you know all about Coors Field, what he accomplished that year was even more impressive. He posted a 2.40 ERA in 15 home starts; that’s the lowest home ERA in franchise history.

As hard as it is for Rockies fans to remember, the team made the postseason that year, and Freeland was a big part. In an NL Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field, Freeland went 6.2 scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs and helped the team take a 2-1 win in a grueling 13-inning game.

A lot has changed.

While he was there for the big moments, he has also been here for the struggles. In fact, one of the most difficult stretches in team history. Now president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta is going to have to determine what the next era of baseball looks like in Colorado and whether or not Freeland will be a part of it.

That’s what makes Tuesday different.

Seeing No. 21 walk to the mound at Coors Field has just become the norm for Colorado Rockies fans. He is simply a part of Rockies baseball.

No matter what the record shows, or even the final score, Tuesday’s trot to the mound, and especially the walk away from it, will be meaningful to the Freeland family.

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