Cooper Hearne | June 11, 2026
Image Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Rockies fans know Kyle Freeland and his story well by now. The Denver native is in his 10th season with the club, having been drafted in the 1st round of the 2014 draft and subsequently making his major league debut in 2017. His career has spanned from incredible highs – leading the Rockies’ 2018 playoff run and finishing 4th in the Cy Young race – to trying lows – battling injuries, periods of poor performance, and a string of 100-loss seasons for the team.
Throughout it all, the hometown kid has persevered with his trademark competitiveness, heart, and growing maturity throughout the years. Zoom out to a 30,000 ft. perspective (or perhaps 14,000 ft. for hiking fans), and Freeland has had a consistently solid career for the Rox. His career ERA of 4.67 equates to a park-adjusted ERA+ of 104, slightly better than the league-standardized average of 100, and his WHIP has hovered between a respectable 1.408 and 1.471 each of the last six seasons.
Where He Ranks
That is impressive reliability for a pitcher at Coors Field, where many a talented hurler has been chewed up and spit out over time by the rigors of altitude. Over the last few seasons, Freeland has been steadily climbing the career leaderboard for Rockies pitchers, and last Sunday, he became the Rockies’ all-time leader in innings pitched with 1313.1. It is an incredible achievement for the Thomas Jefferson High School grad who grew up idolizing players in purple pinstripes like Aaron Cook, whom he just passed for the innings record. He also recently moved past Jorge De La Rosa for the 2nd most strikeouts in Rockies’ history with 989, and is 2nd in career Wins Above Replacement with a bWAR of 18.4, behind the great Ubaldo Jimenez.
Kyle Freeland’s Future Remains One of the Rockies’ Biggest Questions
However, Freeland is in the last year of his contract (he has a player option for another year if he reaches certain statistical benchmarks, which he is unlikely to meet), and the Rockies face a decision about the future of their longtime stalwart southpaw. The Rockies are in a rebuilding mode, and while they haven’t exactly cleaned house, they have trended toward moving on from veterans in exchange for younger prospects (See: Ryan McMahon, Jake Bird, and Tyler Kinley at last year’s trade deadline). At 33 years old, the now sage veteran doesn’t exactly fit into the rebuilding goal of fielding a younger team that can succeed years into the future.
Do the Rockies Shop Freeland?
If the Rockies want to shop Freeland at the deadline, could they get worthwhile value in return? At this point in his career, Kyle has settled into an average MLB pitcher. His ERA+ has been slightly below average (99, 90, and 98) each of the last three seasons. After a promising start to this season in which the wiry lefty displayed increased velocity and a higher strikeout rate, he has struggled after a stint on the IL for shoulder inflammation. His velocity dipped significantly, and he has been giving up home runs at a career-high mark of 2.4 per 9 innings. The current overall stat line of a 7.81 ERA and 1.70 WHIP does not look pretty, and his trade value at the moment is presumably low.
There have been signs of improvement, though, as his velocity has started to tick back up over his last couple of starts. If Kyle can continue to regain his form between now and the trade deadline, he may be attractive to teams making a playoff push who are in need of help in the back end of their rotation. The league knows Freeland well, and a team may bet on his solid track record as well as his tendency to rise to the occasion when the lights are the brightest. From the Rockies perspective, if they can acquire a promising prospect or two in return, that would be a very sensible move to make.
However, another avenue for the Rockies to explore is to bring back their veteran left-hander on a short-term, team-friendly deal to help bridge the gap to the future. As the longest tenured Rockie (alongside fellow hurler Antonio Senzatela), Freeland carries with him a wealth of knowledge about the challenge of pitching at Coors Field. Kyle’s personal experience and leadership could be valuable to the Rockies’ new front office as they attempt to steer the ship toward brighter days ahead. It is never easy to find 5 reliable starters who can perform at altitude, and keeping a longtime dependable arm in the fold would help shore up the rotation and take some pressure off the up-and-coming youngsters.
How Does the Story End?
From Kyle’s perspective, he is an intense competitor who would no doubt relish the chance to play in high-stakes games for a playoff team. On the flip side, he has always taken a lot of pride in being a Rockie (recall his emotional plea to fans last year to stick with the team amidst their historic struggles), and he has never given any indication that he wants out. Perhaps the best storybook script would be for the local kid to persevere through the team’s struggles and personal ups and downs long enough to contribute to a Rockies playoff run in the tail end of his career, bookending his tenure with successful and exciting seasons on each end. As a longtime fan of the Rockies and of Kyle, this is the outcome I will be rooting for.
While the future is uncertain for Freeland and the Rockies, it has already been a heck of a career for the kid from Southeast Denver. We can only hope that Kyle continues to find his groove on the mound and has success with whatever team he may compete for going forward. Whether his parting gift to the Rockies is in the form of prospects in a trade return or in serving as a veteran bridge to the future, we can all ultimately tip our cap to K-Free for his service to the Rockies. What a remarkable accomplishment it has been, living out every kid’s dream of playing for his beloved hometown team.
Written by Cooper Hearne.
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