Jeff Bridich and company could be close to netting an arm or two very soon. Don't get too excited, though.
The Colorado Rockies are working toward making a move for a pitcher this week, according to MLB's Thomas Harding.
The club has been in talks with the New York Mets for several weeks regarding starting pitcher Dillon Gee, who owns a career 3.91 ERA/93 ERA+ in more than 600 major league innings. There is too much smoke around Gee at this point to simply write this off as a rumor; so much, in fact, that I would be surprised if he doesn't end up in purple pinstripes this offseason.
The Rockies could send Boone Logan to the Mets as part of a package for Gee, per Harding. If Jeff Bridich is able to accomplish that feat, it would be one of the best trades the Rockies have made in the last five years. Logan is owed almost $12 million over the next two seasons, and it's entirely possible that his elbow troubles are only going to get worse -- not better -- from here.
In addition to Gee, the Rockies are looking into right-handed free agent Ryan Vogelsong, a fly ball pitcher (though that alone isn't necessarily a bad thing, remember?) whose limited action at Coors Field has been the stuff of nightmares. Vogelsong would have to come on the cheap; he's logged a lot of innings since returning to the majors in 2011 after a long exodus, he'll be 38 in July, and he's posted a 75 ERA+ over the last two seasons.
There is a chance that Vogelsong could give the Rockies 180 or so league-average (or slightly below) innings, and I imagine that's why the team is showing any interest in him at all. But at this point in his career, it doesn't seem likely that he'd handle the transition from AT&T Park to Coors Field quite that well.
Colorado has also looked at past-their-prime relievers Francisco Rodriguez, John Axford and Rafael Soriano, Harding adds. Those types of players, assuming they can be had on one-year deals, would be solid additions to a bullpen that desperately needs some stability, if not a complete overhaul. We'll have more on the state of that unit in the next few days.
Links
Rockies trading for Mets' Dillon Gee makes some sense
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post adds his two cents on the Rockies potentially making a move for Gee, noting that he's a ground ball pitcher who can eat up some innings. Gee is certainly nothing to get excited about, but his presence would allow the Rockies to not rush Jon Gray and Eddie Butler, so I'm fine with it.
Rockies' First Round Draft History Grades
Kyle Tucker of Rox Pile examines every first-round pick in the history of the Rockies. The pitching selections are depressing.