Colorado Rockies, Seth Smith Avoid Arbitration

The Colorado Rockies and outfielder Seth Smith have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2.415 million contract, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post. This is Smith's first year of eligibility for arbitration, but he's avoided going to an actual hearing by settling with his team. The agreement was first reported by MLB.com's Thomas Harding.

The Rockies may not be Smith's team much longer, though, as the outfielder has constantly been in trade rumors throughout the offseason. While he has been an effective piece for Colorado over the past few years, the outfield is now set with Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez and the recently-acquired Michael Cuddyer, and the team may want to go in a different route with its fourth outfielder role.

Smith, 29, has been a career-long Rockie. He set a career-high in plate appearances in 2011, posting a .284/.347/.483 line with 32 doubles, 9 triples and 15 home runs in 533 PA's. Generally a solid defender, his numbers were down in 2011, although we're admittedly talking about a limited sample size.

Realistically, he can be extremely effective in a platoon role. He's always struggled against lefties, so the Rockies have tried very hard to hide him from those pitchers. But in substantial playing time against right-handed pitchers, Smith has been very good, hitting .290/.364/.518 in his career.