Colorado Rockies sign one-year contract extension with Rafael Betancourt – MLB News
The Colorado Rockies have managed to avoid arbitration with Rafael Betancourt as they agreed to a one-year contract extension up to 2012.
The Rockies did not want to have Betancourt enter into the free agency market and possibly get picked up by another team for the 2011 regular season.
The 35-year-old relief pitcher Rafael Betancourt will get $4 million in 2012 and $4.25 million in 2013 if he uses his contract option for that year.
Colorado Rockies’ manager Jim Tracy was satisfied with contract and said, “I feel it the best deal for the team, as Rafael has been the part of the team for last two seasons and demonstrated his specialty in the game.”
Betancourt had a decent performance last season with a 5-1 record and an ERA average of 3.61 in 72 games. He managed to get ranked as fifth in the National League. He also took 89 strike-outs and only gave up eight walks in 62 impressive innings.
“It is a major move in my career as I gained a confidence of the Rockies to be contracted,” Betancourt said. “I am in good shape to change the position of the game, if I continue to do so, no doubt 2013 option will be mine.”
As expected, the Rockies were very happy to avoid arbitration with Betancourt and will be hoping that he can put in the same kind of performance that he did last year for the team. The Rockies are desperate for a successful regular season and a possible
appearance in the playoffs.
The team will be watching his performance carefully once Spring Training starts to ascertain his abilities to be in the final pitching rotation. It seems that the Rockies are looking to add some depth in their pitching line-up for the regular season. The
addition of Betancourt is a clear indication as to the direction the team is looking to build on.
With the regular season not far off, it will be exciting to see what impact Betancourt will have on the Rockies pitching line-up.
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