Rockies avoid arbitration with LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Jhoulys Chacin and C Michael McKenry
All three sign one-year deals for 2015
DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has avoided arbitration with left-handed pitcher Rex Brothers, right-handed pitcher Jhoulys Chacin and catcher Michael McKenry by agreeing to one-year contracts for the 2015 season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, per club policy.
Brothers, 27, spent the entire 2014 season on the Rockies active roster. He made 74 relief appearances, his third-straight season of at least 70 appearances, and went 4-6 with a 5.59 ERA (56.1 ip, 35 er) and 15 holds. On June 14 at San Francisco in the eighth inning, Brothers threw the Rockies first-ever immaculate inning, striking out the side on nine pitches. Since 2012, he has pitched 221 games, tied for the fourth-most among Major League pitchers in that span.
The Lipscomb University (Tenn.) product is a career 15-11 with 20 saves and a 3.49 ERA (232.0 ip, 90 er) in 269 Major League games. His 269 games rank seventh in franchise history, while his 61 career holds in a Rockies uniform are third-most. Brothers was originally drafted by Colorado in the first round (34th overall) in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.
Chacin, 27, made 11 starts last season for Colorado going 1-7 with a 5.40 ERA (63.1 ip, 38 er). He opened up the season on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain and was activated on May 4, 2014 after four rehab starts between Single-A Modesto and Triple-A Colorado Springs. On June 12 against Atlanta, he became the seventh pitcher in franchise history to hit the 500 strikeout plateau in a Rockies uniform, striking out five over seven scoreless innings.
The Maracaibo, Venezuela native has spent his entire career in a Rockies uniform, going 38-48 with a 3.78 ERA (672.0 ip, 282 er) in 124 career games/109 starts. Over the course of his career he has thrown at least six innings in 65 of career starts, going 32-19 with a 2.37 ERA (439.2 ip, 116 er), including 56 quality starts. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was originally signed by the Rockies as an amateur free agent on Sept. 24, 2004.
McKenry, 29, made two stints on the Rockies roster after beginning the 2014 season at Triple-A Colorado Springs. He would hit a career-best .315 (53-for-168) with nine doubles, eight home runs and 22 RBI over 57 games at the big league level. McKenry was called up initially on May 3 before being optioned back to Colorado Springs on May 18, and would rejoin the club on June 4 for the rest of the season.
A veteran of five Major League seasons (2010-14), McKenry was originally selected by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Middle Tennessee State University. He rejoined the Rockies organization on Jan. 1, 2014, signing as a Minor League free agent. In 250 Major League games, the Knoxville, Tenn. native has a career average of .245 (174-for-711) with 41 doubles, 25 home runs, 86 RBI and 74 runs scored.
The Rockies currently have a full 40-man roster.