DENVER (AP) – Starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin and the Colorado Rockies avoided arbitration by agreeing to a two-year, $6.5 million deal on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old righty is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he went 3-5 with a 4.43 ERA. He missed more than three months with shoulder inflammation.

Chacin had asked for $2.6 million in arbitration and had been offered $1.7 million by the Rockies.

The team is hoping the hard-throwing Chacin can develop into the ace of the staff. He has the second-lowest career ERA (3.68) by a Colorado pitcher who’s had at least 50 starts.

A native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Chacin was signed by Colorado as a non-drafted free agent in September 2004.

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