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The Winter Meetings are nearly upon us, and with them the offseason will kick into high gear (well, for at least a week) before the quick slide into the new year and then Spring Training. In fact, the Rockies have already been busy this week, non-tendering three players on Wednesday night.
With Yohan Flande, Jason Gurka, and Rosell Herrera now free agents, the Rockies will have at least three sports to work with on their 40-man roster during the Winter Meetings. Now, let's cover some other news and notes from around the team:
Lyles agrees to one-year deal with Rockies — MLB.com
In addition to non-tendering those three players on Wednesday night, the Rockies and Jordan Lyles agreed to a one-year, $2.975 million contract for 2016. With the contract, Lyles and the Rox avoided arbitration ahead of what each party is hoping will be a healthy, successful season for the talented but oft-(freakishly)-injured starting pitcher.
Rockies open to 'fair' deals at Winter Meetings — MLB.com
Hey, aren't we all? Actually, there are some interesting names in there, including Ian Kennedy, Jeff Samardzija, and Mike Leake, as well as the possibility of some kind of right-handed hitting first baseman. Truth be told, I'd love the Rockies to make a run at Kennedy, though I know I may be in the minority on that one. Samardzija and Leake will probably be priced out of the Rockies' realistic range pretty quickly, but it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.
Ben Paulsen talks Movember, offseason workouts, Clemson football — @Rockies
Here's a fun Rock Talk interview the Rockies did with Ben Paulsen and posted to their Twitter account. It's always fun to see these guys in the offseason as they prepare for the coming year while trying to be, ya know, humans and stuff, too. Clemson sucks, by the way. (Sorry, Ben.) GO HEELS, GO AMERICA!
Revisiting ZiPS Projections, Part II: Starting Pitching — Rockies Zingers
Adam Peterson looks back at what the Rockies' starters were projected to do in 2015 and compares it to what they actually did, and finds a mixed bag of over- and under-performers that isn't nearly as depressing as you might assume it to be. Deep in that post, he also gets a dig in at me about Yohan Flande. Damn you, Adam. (Just kidding.)
Top 10 Colorado Rockies moments from 2015 season — Denver Post
These December end-of-year rundowns remind me... do you know about Tulomas?! Merry Tulomas! Feliz Tulomas! Happy Tulomas!