TEMPE, Ariz. -- Before his three-inning 2022 Spring Training debut Tuesday in the Rockies’ 7-4 loss to the Angels, left-hander Kyle Freeland’s cellphone was part of his uniform.

But even after the outing, when a mishap between second baseman Brendan Rodgers and shortstop José Iglesias negated a potential double play, Freeland looked at that same phone.

“I’ve got nothing,” he said.

Tuesday was the deadline for clubs and salary-arbitration-eligible players to exchange figures. Right around the time Freeland was saying that there was no news, the Rockies announced they had reached one-year deals will all of their arbitration-eligible players except for Freeland.

On Tuesday, the Rockies locked up third baseman Ryan McMahon on a six-year, $70 million contract extension, and Colorado also has interest in a long-term deal for Freeland, who is in the third of his four years of arbitration eligibility.

Freeland and the club can continue to negotiate until a potential arbitration hearing, when a panel will assign either his request or the team’s offer. However, clubs often stop negotiating if an agreement isn’t reached by the deadline for trading figures.

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Freeland, 28, has said all spring that he’ll put business aside and concentrate on the season. To that end, Freeland relied heavily on a new, forkball-ish changeup that he used about 10 times Tuesday.

“I’ve been doing everything I can to stretch out my fingers,” he said, smiling.

Freeland breezed through his first two innings, then opened the third by giving up singles to Tyler Wade (a bunt to the right side) and David Fletcher, then walking Austin Romine. Rodgers fielded Shohei Ohtani’s grounder and was charged with an error when Iglesias could not handle a backhand flip. A Mike Trout sacrifice fly and an Anthony Rendon single made it 3-0.

Before Spring Training, Freeland worked out at Trevor Bauer’s facility in Arizona, throwing live batting practice and simulating innings. Although Freeland feels on schedule, he understands that manager Bud Black will be careful with the starters early in the season because of the shortened Cactus League period.

“You’ve got to play it smart with where we are in the season, but also with what’s going on in that game,” said Freeland, who went 7-8 with a 4.33 ERA in 23 starts in 2021, after missing the early part of the season with a left shoulder injury and needing a few starts to find his form. “If we’re cruising, our pitch count is kind of low, let ‘em go a little bit.

“With Colorado, weather is going to be a factor. It’s going to be colder. We’ll have to take that into account. Buddy has voiced his concern about staying healthy. Us five [starting pitchers] and the position players got to stay healthy if we want a good chance at winning this division.”

Mac can keep a secret
Ryan McMahon’s contract was done late last week, but it could not go official until he and the Rockies received the results from an MRI on his right arm. He never went to the injured list last season but missed two starts in June with a forearm strain.

Grinding through occasional pain and appearing in 151 games was a source of pride -- a durability valued by mentors such as DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. Still, the Rockies wanted to make sure the forearm and elbow had no major damage. 

It made for a tough few days for McMahon around his teammates.

“It was hard not being able to tell my boys,” he said.

Black said the deals for Kris Bryant -- who singled in his first Cactus League action after signing for seven years and $182 million -- and McMahon have boosted the belief in what the Rockies are developing. During the offseason, starting pitcher Antonio Senzatela signed for five years with $50.5 million guaranteed, first baseman C.J. Cron for two years and $14.5 million, and catcher Elias Díaz for three years and $14.5 million. The Rockies have two years and an option left on Germán Márquez’s deal.

“We’ll see what happens down the line with a number of our younger players, but I think it sends a great message to the rest of the team and the organization, what they believe could happen – getting us back to where we want to get,” Black said. “A lot of guys felt that earlier in their careers [postseason appearances in 2017 and 2018].”

Feeling fine
Second baseman Brendan Rodgers missed three games with lower back stiffness, but on Tuesday he went 1-for-3 with a double against the Angels.

One-year settlements
Outfielder Raimel Tapia, right-hander Carlos Estévez ($3.03 million), utility man Garrett Hampson ($1.86 million), righty Peter Lambert and righty Robert Stephenson agreed to contract terms for 2022.