Colorado Rockies: Reliever Chris Rusin avoids arbitration

It was announced today that Colorado Rockies reliever of Chris Rusin avoided arbitration today by signing a one-year contract.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today on Twitter, Rockies reliever Chris Rusin avoided arbitration for a contract for 2018 with the Rockies by signing a 1-year, $1.2875 million contract.

To me, this seems like a very low number for Rusin as he was the Rockies most consistent reliever in 2017 and, arguably, their best.

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Rusin in the past two seasons

In 2017, it was Rusin’s first full season in relief and he pitched very well. Rusin went 5-2 with a 2.65 ERA (189 ERA+). He also pitched in 60 games and 85 innings pitched so, often, he pitched in more than one inning for the Rockies. He struck out 7.5 per nine innings and walked only 2.0 per nine innings.

He mainly pitched in relief in 2016 but he did make seven starts. In 84 1/3 innings of work, he had an ERA of 3.74 (130 ERA+), 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.5 walks, and a WAR of 2.0.

Rusin also had a 2.4 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) in 2017, according to Baseball Reference. That was eighth highest on the Rockies. Ahead of him (in order) was Nolan Arenado (7.2), Charlie Blackmon (6.0), Kyle Freeland (3.4), German Marquez (3.1), Jon Gray (2.9), DJ LeMahieu (2.9), and Trevor Story (2.6).

Final Thoughts

As Jake Shapiro of BSN Denver noted on Twitter, this is a very economical contract for the Rockies.

As Shapiro says in more simplier terms:

MLB Trade Rumors predicted that Rusin would get $1.4 million in arbitration this year, an $855,000 raise from his 2017 salary of $545k, which is just above league minimum. I actually would have projected Rusin to be higher than MLBTR’s number myself just based on how valuable he was to the Rockies in 2017.

Also, I think that it should be noted that with the money that the Rockies saved and the money that they already have waiting, they could still go out there and find a very good corner outfielder, first baseman, or catcher to shore up their offense. In 2017, the Rockies offense, by OPS+, which adjusts to ballpark, was 26th in baseball.

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Adding a bat in a trade or in free agency that makes a good amount of money is very feasible…and with the money that the Rockies saved on Rusin for this season, it could lead to the Rockies being a bit more flexible on the market.