Sources - Pitcher Kyle Freeland, Colorado Rockies agree to five-year, $64.5 million contract extension

Left-hander Kyle Freeland and the Colorado Rockies are in agreement on a five-year, $64.5 million contract that includes a sixth-year player option, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.

The contract ties the 28-year-old Freeland to his hometown team through at least the 2026 season and will guarantee him the most money for a Rockies pitcher since they signed Mike Hampton to a $121 million deal more than two decades ago.

Freeland is the third starter Colorado has given a long-term deal in recent years. Right-hander German Marquez in 2019 signed a five-year, $43 million deal that includes a club option for 2024, and right-hander Antonio Senzatela received a five-year, $50.5 million contract with a club option for 2027 over the winter. The Rockies also extended third baseman Ryan McMahon for six years and $70 million in March — and, at 6-3, are tied for the fourth-best record in Major League Baseball but still behind the 7-2 Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

Freeland's best season came in 2018, when he finished with a 2.85 ERA over 202.1 innings and finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting. He struggled the next season and has been consistent since, with 4.33 ERAs in the COVID-shortened 2020 season as well as over 120.2 innings last year, when he missed the season's first two months with a shoulder injury.

His recovery, as well as his final 18 starts in which he posted a 3.24 ERA over 100 innings, convinced the Rockies he was worth lavishing more than $80 million guaranteed. The team chose Freeland with the eighth overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft, and he has been a staple in its rotation since debuting in 2017.

Freeland was due to hit free agency following the 2023 season. His 2022 salary