Angels Rumors: 3 starting pitchers on the Rockies to trade for

It wasn’t long ago when Kyle Freeland was deemed the savior for a Rockies franchise that has been starved for quality starting pitching.

In 2018, Freeland finished fourth in the NL CY Young voting after posting a 2.85 ERA and 1.245 WHIP in 33 starts.

Freeland took a step backward the following year, finishing with a 6.73 ERA and 1.581 WHIP for the Rockies in 22 starts. The struggles sent the left-hander to triple-A, where he held an ERA just under nine (8.80) in six minor-league starts.

Last summer, Freeland was able to rebound and threw a quality start in nine of his 13 games. Overall, Freeland finished with a 4.33 ERA, and 1.415 WHIP in 70 2/3 innings pitched in 2020.

Angels: The past success of Kyle Freeland could be enough to take a chance on.

To no surprise, Freeland has performed better away from Coors Field.

Kyle Freeland Career Splits (4 seasons):

• Coors Field: (51 games) 4.35 ERA 266.2 IP 6.9 K/9 2.24 K/BB
• Away: (50 games) 3.98 ERA 266.2 IP 6.8 K/9 1.93 K/BB

The 27-year old agreed to a one-year, $5.02 million deal his first year of arbitration this offseason. Freeland will have two more seasons of negotiations before becoming a free agent after the 2023 season.

This type of team-control will drive up a high-demand for Freeland and will likely require a team to take on the salary of another Rockies player. It’ll also come down to where Freeland fits into the future plans of Colorado.

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Whether or not the Angels plan on bringing in a true ace for their staff remains to be seen. I don’t think any of these Rockies pitchers are at that level just yet, but the potential is there.

With the amount of Halos starting pitchers currently set to hit free agency after this season, a trade with Colorado should be considered at some point.