Mychal Givens, Rockies agree to one-year, $4.05M deal to avoid arbitration

The Rockies and right-handed reliever Mychal Givens have avoided arbitration with a $4.05M agreement for 2021, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network. MLBTR had projected a $3.4M to $4.3M arbitration salary for Givens, who’s entering his last season of arbitration control.

Givens joined the Rockies in a trade with the Orioles last August, a time when Colorado was hoping to earn a playoff berth, but the team fell out of contention during the last month of the season. Givens didn’t necessarily help the club's cause, as he allowed seven earned runs in 9 1/3 innings during his Rockies debut. Between Colorado and Baltimore, Givens finished the season with an acceptable 3.63 ERA/4.31 SIERA and a 26.9 percent strikeout rate across 22 1/3 frames, but a 10.8 percent walk rate and a career-low groundball percentage of 23.2 percent helped lead to his issues.

Since he debuted in the majors in 2015, Givens has pitched to a 3.41 ERA/3.35 SIERA with a 29.1 percent strikeout rate and a 9.4 percent walk rate over 345 1/3 frames. Putting up numbers like those in 2021 would make it easier for Givens to cash in as a free agent next winter.