The Colorado Rockies are sending left-hander Kyle Freeland to Triple-A Albuquerque to work on his mechanics after a rough start to the season.
Freeland is 2-6 with a 7.13 ERA and nowhere near the form he displayed a season ago, when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting. He currently leads the NL in home runs given up (16) and earned runs (47).
A year ago, the left-hander went 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA and 173 strikeouts.
The 26-year-old Freeland said it "stinks'' that he must return to the minors, but welcomed the chance to work on aspects of his game out of the big-league spotlight.
He said he's not sure how many starts it might take to turn things around. In other moves, the Rockies reinstated lefty Chris Rusin (strained back) from the 10-day injured list, recalled righty Jesus Tinoco from Albuquerque and optioned outfielder Yonathan Daza to Triple-A.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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