Could Kyle Freeland make his last Rockies start soon?

Kyle Freeland returned from the injured list on Tuesday night for a 50-pitch start that resulted in a rare Colorado Rockies win during this rough month of September.

Freeland, who would be projected to start one more time this season — possibly Sunday or on Tuesday, each at Coors Field — is the longest tenured Rockies’ player and is on an expiring contract.

The 33-year-old local left-hander is the last player left from the 2017 and 2018 playoff teams. After that second season, where he finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting, he has been one of the few bright spots on a team that has kept getting worse. Now in his fourth-straight season on a team headed for 100 losses, Freeland’s five-year, $64.5 million deal signed in April of 2022 is set to expire.

In 2026, Freeland has struggled. He has a 4-10 record with a  6.38 ERA over 128 innings pitched. Despite this sour season, the Denver native ranks franchise-best in pitching rWAR, second in strikeouts, third in wins and 10th in ERA — with those most starts and most innings pitched in club history.

There is some talk that this could not just be his last start in purple but in the majors as retiring could be an option. If the lefty does hang them up, he’ll go down as a beloved Rockie and one of the best ballplayers ever born in the Centennial State. Freeland is sixth in rWAR among any player from Colorado with the third-most starts and fourth-most strikeouts. The guys consistently above him in state-based-stats are hall of famers Roy Halladay and Rich “Goose”

Freeland allowed eight hits on Tuesday — including three solo homers that represented the sum total of San Diego’s offense. The Rockies won anyway, their fifth win in their last 20 games. Hopefully, Freeland gets one more start to take us down a trip on memory lane.

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