The Rockies announced Friday that they declined the $5 million contract option for right-handed reliever Rafael Betancourt.
The move, which was not unexpected, makes Betancourt a free agent, meaning he can negotiate with any team.
However, general manager Dan O’Dowd has made it clear the Rockies will continue to try to work out a deal with Betancourt. Ideally, that would be a two-year deal, spreading salary over both seasons.
“We did not exercise the option, but we will continue to negotiate with Rafael,” O’Dowd said in a statement.
Betancourt is a Type-A free agent, and that plays to the Rockies’ favor in negotiations. If the Rockies offer Betancourt arbitration and another team signs him, the Rockies would receive two picks in the 2010 major-league first- year player draft — either a first- or second-round pick from the team that signs him and a compensatory pick between the first and second rounds.
Betancourt, who turns 35 in April, went 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA in 32 games with the Rockies after they acquired him from the Indians for right-handed pitching prospect Conor Graham in July.
Thinking it over.
O’Dowd has also said the Rockies will explore re-signing veteran free agent pitchers Jose Contreras and Joe Beimel. Contreras, a right-hander, joined the Rockies in an Aug. 31 trade with the White Sox and helped the Rockies down the stretch out of the bullpen. He’s expected to get some offers from other teams as a starter.
Beimel, a lefty, was a key component to the Rockies’ bullpen.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
