Felipe Paulino, acquired this offseason from the Houston Astros in exchange for infielder Clint Barmes, has reached terms with the Rockies on a 1-year deal that will avoid the arbitration process.
Paulino, a starter for most of his career, has also spent a decent amount of time in the pen. The hard-throwing righty sports a fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s and complements it with a strong slider and changeup-in-progress throws a lot of strikeouts, but also gives up more than his fair share of the free pass. Paulino will be considered in 2011 as a 6th/7th starter with Colorado, but likely will be used as a swingman/long reliever throughout the season.
This signing leaves RHP Jason Hammel and 3B Ian Stewart as the remaining arbitration-eligible players yet to sign.
Clint Barmes also avoided arbitration with the Astros with a 1-year, $3.925M deal.