33-year old righty reliever Joel Peralta has rejected an outright assignment to the minors thus becoming a free agent. Peralta did not pitch too well for the Rockies last season. He worked in 27 games (0 starts) for the Rockies in which he was 0-3 with a 6.20 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. He has now pitched in 221 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 4-11 with 2 saves, a 4.61 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Peralta will get another shot on a minor league deal over the winter but the Rockies won’t miss him too much.

The Rockies have 11 potential free agents but they will only likely think about bringing back Rafael Betancourt. With the state of the free agent field the Rockies should just pick up Betancourt’s option instead of buying him out and trying to sign him to a cheaper deal. Yorvit Torrealba and Joe Beimel are the only other two of the free agents that I could see them bringing back. Jose Contreras, Josh Fogg, Adam Eaton, Jason Marquis, Matt Herges, Juan Rincon, Alan Embree and Jason Giambi will all likely be looking for new jobs in 2010. The Rockies will be looking for a veteran catcher to back up Chris Iannetta this season with possible names being Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Jason LaRue, Jose Molina, Mike Redmond and Gregg Zaun. The Rockies could also use a legit backup middle infielder and guys like Jamey Carroll, Alex Cora, Craig Counsell, Jerry Hairston, Bobby Crosby, Adam Everett and defensive wizard John McDonald will all be considered for the job. The Rockies will likely look for some affordable help from the right side of the bullpen with guys like Danys Baez, Kiko Calero, Brendan Donnelly, Guillermo Mota, Chan Ho Park, David Weathers and Russ Springer. From the lefty side of the bullpen the Rockies will likely look at Scott Eyre, Ron Mahay, Will Ohman, Brian Shouse and Jamie Walker. The Rockies have some work to do this winter but don’t expect too many major changes as they like their team going forward.

The Rockies have granted 31-year old righty starting pitcher Adam Eaton free agency. Eaton pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last season and he was 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP. Overall, Eaton pitched in 12 games (8 starts) with the Orioles and Rockies last season in which he was 3-5 with a 8.08 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. The Rockies won’t miss Eaton at all in 2010 but it was nice for them to let him go so that he can attempt to revive his major league career.

The Rockies have a $4 million dollar mutual option on 31-year old righty swinging catcher Yorvit Torrealba for the 2010 season. Torrealba would likely have no problem playing for the Rockies again next season so the decision likely rests with the team. Re-sign him for $4 million bucks or pay him $500,000 bucks to leave. Torrealba played in 64 games for the Rockies this season and he was 62 for 213 (.291 avg, .731 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 2 homers and 31 RBIs. In four years with the Rockies, Torrealba has played in 312 games in which he is 276 for 1,068 (.258 avg, .710 OPS) with 116 runs scored, 23 homers and 152 RBIs. $4 million bucks is certainly a lot of cash for a back up catcher so the Rockies will have to determine whether or not they want to start Torrealba over Chris Iannetta before they choose to pick up the option or buy him out. Even if the Rockies let Torrealba go they have to remember his name at the trade deadline in 2010 as he has been a money player in the post season. He has played in 17 games in his post season career and he is 15 for 56 (.268 avg, .757 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs.

UPDATE: The Rockies have declined Yorvit Torrealba’s option for the 2010 season.

The Rockies have a $3 million dollar option on the 2010 season for 39-year old lefty reliever Alan Embree. But they will likely buy him out for $250,000 dollars. Embree pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last season and he was 2-2 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. Embree has now pitched in 882 games (4 starts) in his major league career and he is 39-45 with 25 saves, a 4.59 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Rockies won’t miss Embree as he has not been that good of a pitcher during his major league career.

UPDATE: The Rockies have declined Alan Embree’s option for the 2010 season.