Rockies, Adam Ottavino avoid arbitration

The Colorado Rockies and relief pitcher Adam Ottavino avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal on Monday, according to a team announcement.

Ottavino will receive $1.3 million, per CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. That's $300,000 more than the projection from MLB Trade Rumors' Matt Swartz, but about $125,000 less than what Ottavino was hoping for when he and the Rockies exchanged figures earlier this month. Colorado offered $1 million at the time.

Ottavino, 29, posted a 3.60 ERA/84 ERA- for the Rockies in 2014, a year after he finished with a 2.64 ERA/60 ERA-. The consistently effective right-hander struck out 9.7 batters per nine innings while posting the best walk rate of his career last season -- one in which Ottavino was one of Colorado's top overall pitchers on a staff that often failed to strike out hitters and couldn't limit walks to counteract that.

"I think every pitcher is different, but I go for strikeouts," Ottavino said after a game in August. "If they want to hit it along the way, that's fine, but I'm trying to get ahead in the count and put guys away - especially here, where any ball in play could spell trouble."

Ottavino has experienced huge success since joining the Rockies as a reliever in 2012. He owns a 3.60 ERA 229 strikeouts in 222⅓ innings in three seasons for Colorado.

"Not to say that I'm against contact, but my game has always been strikeouts," Ottavino added. "I just try to do that as much as I can, that way maybe I'll get weak contact along the way."

The Rockies now have only Wilin Rosario left with whom they need to work out a deal. Rosario, a subject of trade rumors for most of this offseason, was not present at Rockies Fest over the weekend.