After 10 years, the Rockies need to set Kyle free.<\/p>\n
Hasn\u2019t the bravest pitcher in franchise history suffered enough?<\/p>\n
Colorado native and starting pitcher Kyle Freeland is the best of us.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s strong and stoic. Proud of this state and passionate about his work.<\/p>\n
K-Free wears his heart on the purple-pinstripe sleeve on the uniform of the major league team he rooted for as a kid growing up in Denver.<\/p>\n
But in the second inning of a home game against Boston, as I witnessed Freeland watch a baseball disappear over the fence at Coors Field for a home run that he served up on a platter, a nagging thought was impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to get out of Denver, K-Free.<\/p>\n
You will forever be our favorite native son of the summer game, but this party\u2019s over.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve battled the thin air of 5280 and waged the good fight for the worst team in the big leagues for too long.<\/p>\n
With his 245th career start for the Rockies, Freeland added to a franchise record that merits a medal.<\/p>\n
Is there a baseball version of the Purple Heart?<\/p>\n
\u201cThis season has been tougher than others, for sure,\u201d Freeland told me Wednesday in the Colorado clubhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re competitors. We want to win, no matter what. I don\u2019t like looking at my overall record for the season and seeing that it\u2019s a losing record. It\u2019s not a good taste in your mouth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among MLB starters with more than 50 innings pitched in 2026, Freeland ranks dead last with an earned run average of 7.50.<\/p>\n
On more guts than stuff, Freeland scraped by for six innings, allowing the Rockies to rally from an early three-run deficit to beat Boston 8-6.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the name of the game here in Coors. Hang with it, stick with it, when things don\u2019t go your way,\u201d Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFree competed like crazy \u2026 You can pretty much count on Free to do that every time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But his record is stuck at an ugly 1-7. Freeland recorded his lone W of the season way back on April 7 before doing a stint on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the shoulder injury, it felt like about a month where I was just searching to get back to form and get those feels again,\u201d Freeland said. \u201cAs of late, I feel like I\u2019ve been able to work some stuff and get some footing. But it\u2019s definitely been very, very tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
It might be tempting to suggest that too little big-league stuff remains in his 33-year-old left arm. But the way I see it, a change of scenery could roll back the odometer on his feisty competitive spirit.<\/p>\n
In the top of the first inning, Freeland allowed a pop-up that sputtered off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela and fluttered into the wildfire smoke-filled sky just beyond the infield dirt behind first base.<\/p>\n
Colorado infielder Willi Castro took off in such hot pursuit of the ball that he slammed into teammate T.J. Rumfield, who was camped under the lazy looper, resulting in a slapstick blooper that would\u2019ve been called an error in Little League.<\/p>\n
But upon further review, the official scorer gifted Rafaela one of the cheapest triples in the history of a LoDo ballpark that ages pitchers in dog years.<\/p>\n
In addition to hazard pay for starting pitchers that regularly punch the clock at Coors Field, term limits should also be mandatory. No hurler that values his mental health should be required to do a four-year tour of duty on Blake Street more than twice.<\/p>\n
Freeland, however, stands alongside Antonio Senzatela, German Marquez and Aaron Cook as the only Colorado pitchers with the stubborn resilience to survive a decade of employment at Coors Field.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s more than enough, don\u2019t you think? As a reward for Freeland\u2019s loyal service, the Rockies should move him to a pitching-thin playoff contender before the trade deadline of Aug. 3.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s highly unlikely Freeland could return more than a middling prospect or two in trade. But that\u2019s not the point.<\/p>\n
Freeland is also a long shot to throw the 170 innings required to trigger the player option on a $17 million salary for 2027. When (or if) the Rockies are again ready to be relevant in the playoff race discussion, he will be at home watching on television.<\/p>\n
So why not give K-Free a chance to end his career as a No. 5 starter to eat innings for a team that wants to win now?<\/p>\n
With this loss in the rubber match of a three-game series against Boston, your Pet Rocks reached the halfway mark of the season with a 32-49 record. Unlike last year, they aren\u2019t contenders to be the worst MLB team in modern history. And they have a realistic shot to avoid losing 100 times for the fourth consecutive season.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo quit out of these guys,\u201d Freeland said. \u201cWe\u2019ve shown that all year \u2026 staying in the fight nonstop.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s too stubborn to quit.<\/p>\n
And too classy to demand a trade.<\/p>\n
Rocktober, from Matt Holliday\u2019s phantom touch of home plate to Todd Helton\u2019s fist pump to the heavens, has provided the most timeless snapshots in franchise lore.<\/p>\n
But my favorite memory of this ballclub is a chilly October night at Wrigley Field in 2018, when Freeland threw 6 2\/3 scoreless innings during Colorado\u2019s 2-1 playoff victory against the Chubs.<\/p>\n
Freeland will always do right by the Rockies.<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s the Rockies\u2019 turn to do right by K-Free.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/a>
\n
<\/p>\n