After passing through waivers and being outrighted off the Rockies’ 40-man roster last month, Tyler Colvin is now free to sign with any team. According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America, the 28-year-old has elected free agency.
Colvin was a first-round pick of the Cubs back in 2006 and hit .290 with 18 homers and an .858 OPS in 136 games for the Rockies last season, but he batted just .160/.192/.280 with three homers and 27 strikeouts in 27 games at the major league level this year. And while he hit .275 with nine homers and an .857 OPS in 67 games at the Triple-A level, those numbers must be taken with a grain of salt due to the hitter-friendly environment.
Colvin owns a 26.3 percent strikeout rate in the majors and hasn’t solved left-handing pitching, but he has real pop in his bat and his poor 2013 can be blamed in part on a back injury which sidelined him for a long stretch during the second half. He figures to generate plenty of interest as a buy-low type.