Wilton Lopez, Josh Outman avoid arbitration with Rockies

The Colorado Rockies have two fewer arbitration cases to worry about. The team came to one-year agreements with right-hander Wilton Lopez and left-hander Josh Outman on Wednesday, reports Thomas Hartman of MLB.com.

The Rockies acquired Lopez in a December trade that sent Alex White and Alex Gillingham to the Astros.

The 29-year-old Lopez enjoyed a strong campaign in Houston's bullpen, tossing 66.1 innings over 64 appearances and racking up 54 strikeouts while posting a 2.74 FIP. Lopez's success was partly fueled by a massive cut in his walk rate, from 2.3 BB/9 in 2011 to 1.1 in 2012, and an uptick in his velocity.

Outman, on the other hand, struggled mightily in 2012.

The 28-year-old southpaw pitched 40.2 innings for Colorado and found it difficult to find the dish, walking 4.4 batters per nine. When he did find the plate, Outman was hit hard, to the tune of 10.4 H/9 and 1.5 HR/9 in Coors' thin air.