Rockies lock up Street and Betancourt

The Monfort brothers, majority owners of the Colorado Rockies, have been called frugal, cheap, selfish and many other names.  On Tuesday they continued their march of proving people wrong.

The Rockies have reportedly locked up closer Huston Street to a three year deal worth around $21 million, and set-up man Rafael Betancourt for two years and $7.55 million.

The moves are proving that the Rockies are not simply a farm team for the rest of the league like so many have accused them of being.

The Rockies embarked on a painful rebuilding process starting in 2002 when it became clear that they were not in a position to be a big spending team.  They have the money to spend on a few free agents here and there, but if they make a mistake it sets them back too far.  Therefore, if they build from within they are taking a more calculated risk when they attempt to sign young players who have proven themselves to be effective in the big leagues.

The 2010 Colorado Rockies should look very similar to the Wild Card winning team in 2009.  It looks as if the only free agents that will be missing from the playoff roster are catcher Yorvit Torrealba and lefty specialist Joe Beimel.

With Street and Betancourt anchoring the back end of the  bullpen, the Rockies should be very happy with the look of their relief corps.  Betancourt had an ERA of just 1.78 after coming over from Cleveland.  Street blew just two saves on the season and was one of the main reasons the Rockies were in the playoffs.

The Rockies also avoided arbitration with Jason Hammel, signing the 10 game winner to a one-year $1.9 million deal.