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UPDATE (Friday, 4:21 p.m.): Purple Row has received confirmation that the original deal, done back in December for $2.975 million, is the accurate one. In other words, no news here!
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The Colorado Rockies and right-handed pitcher Jordan Lyles have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2016 season, according to a report on Friday afternoon from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. With the deal, valued at $2.475 million, the team and the 24-year-old starting pitcher avoid arbitration.
This comes in conflict with earlier reporting from December 3, indicating Lyles and the Rockies had already agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. According to the earlier deal, Lyles' one-year contract called for a $2.975 million payday, rather than the $2.475 million being reported today by Rosenthal.
A native of Hartsville, South Carolina, Lyles was acquired by the Rockies from the Houston Astros on December 3, 2013, in a trade that brought the pitcher to Denver along with outfielder Brandon Barnes, in exchange for outfielder Dexter Fowler.
In the last two years in Denver, Lyles has had promising moments as a starting pitcher, but both seasons have been derailed by non-throwing arm injuries. In 2014, Lyles went 7-4 with a 4.33 ERA (4.22 FIP) in 126⅔ innings over 22 starts in Colorado, but he missed a good portion of the season after breaking his non-throwing hand while covering for a play at the plate.
Then, in 2015, Lyles was 2-5 with a 5.14 ERA (3.79 FIP) over ten starts and just 49 innings pitched before being shelved due to a big toe injury that eventually required surgery.
For his career, split between the Rockies and Astros — where Lyles broke into the big leagues in 2011 as a 20-year-old — the right-hander is 23-38 with a 5.10 ERA (4.40 FIP) in 104 games (97 starts), recording 6.2 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9 over 552⅔ innings.
In 2016, Lyles must hope good health and good luck are on his side, as he will enter spring training competing for a job in the Rockies' starting rotation along side Jorge De La Rosa, Chad Bettis, Jon Gray, Tyler Chatwood, Chris Rusin, Eddie Butler, and likely several other candidates.
Lyles, who is on the Rockies' 40-man roster, is set to go through arbitration once again ahead of 2017 and will then be due to become a free agent ahead of the 2018 season.