The Rockies have re-signed 30-year old righty reliever Juan Rincon to a minor league deal. Rincon pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Rockies last season and he was 3-2 with a 7.52 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 442 games (3 starts) in his 9 years in the majors and he is 35-29 with 3 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Rincon will have to pitch well to make the Rockies’ bullpen out of spring training.

The Rockies decided not to tender a 2010 contract to 30-year old righty swinging 3B Garrett Atkins making him a free agent. Atkins had a rough year in 2009 which led to his time ending in Colorado. Atkins played in 126 games last season for the Rockies and he was 80 for 354 (.226 avg, .650 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 9 homers and 48 RBIs. Atkins played in 773 games in his 7 years with the Rockies and he was 805 for 2,788 (.289 avg, .811 OPS) with 394 runs scored, 98 homers, 479 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. With Ian Stewart stepping up last season it made the decision to let Atkins walk a lot easier.

34-year old righty reliever Rafael Betancourt has accepted arbitration from the Colorado Rockies. Betancourt pitched in 61 games (0 starts) last season for the Rockies & Indians and he was 4-3 with 2 saves, a 2.73 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 403 games (0 starts) in his seven years in the majors and he is 26-23 with 18 saves, a 3.16 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. The Rockies have to be happy to have Betancourt back as he will be a solid set-up man for Huston Street in 2010.

The Rockies have released 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Matt Murton. Murton played in 29 games for the Rockies last season and he was 13 for 52 (.250 avg, .707 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. He has now played in 346 games in his five years in the majors and he is 272 for 952 (.286 avg, .788 OPS) with 134 runs scored, 29 homers, 112 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Rockies have a lot of depth in the outfield which made Murton expendable.

UPDATE: The real reason that Murton was released was so that he could pursue a career playing in Japan. I bet he will do well there.

30-year old lefty swinging RF Brad Hawpe finished tied with Jeremy Affeldt and Chris Coghlan for 28th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award. Hawpe played in 145 games for the Rockies last season and he was 143 for 501 (.285 avg, .903 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 23 homers and 86 RBIs. Hawpe has now played in 728 games in his six years with the Rockies and he is 683 for 2,414 (.283 avg, .875 OPS) with 438 runs scored, 111 homers, 427 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Hawpe is one the trade block for the Rockies because of how much jack he makes but the Rockies should really think about keeping him as he is a solid middle of the order bat.