The Rockies are willing to field offers on relievers Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen, report Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic. Unsurprisingly, The Athletic notes that the Rox have a high asking price on both controllable power arms.
Vodnik and Halvorsen have been Colorado’s two highest-leverage bullpen options over the past month. They’re each 25-year-old righties with massive arm speed. Vodnik, acquired from the Braves at the 2023 deadline in the Pierce Johnson deal, averages 98.5 MPH on his fastball. Halvorsen, a seventh-round draft pick from two seasons ago, has a heater that sits above 100. Only Mason Miller and Jhoan Durán throw harder than he does.
Of the two, Vodnik has had more success. He tossed 73 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball in his first full season last year. He missed five weeks earlier this season with shoulder inflammation but carries an even 3.00 earned run average in 30 frames. He has gotten ground balls at a huge 56.3% clip, though he has given up a lot of hard contact. Vodnik has also walked a concerning 13.4% of opposing hitters while turning in a league average 23.6% strikeout rate.
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Vodnik’s underlying marks don’t support a low-3.00s ERA. At the same time, it’s easy to see the appeal of a pitcher with this kind of velocity and ability to generate ground balls. It’s a similar story with Halvorsen, who is working as the rebuilding team’s closer. He has gotten grounders at a 53.2% clip while posting middling strikeout (21.3%) and walk (11%) rates. Halvorsen has allowed a few too many home runs, leading to a pedestrian 5.02 ERA through 37 2/3 frames.
The Rockies are generally resistant to dealing players with multiple years of control, but reporting out of Colorado has suggested they’re more open to selling than in years past. That’s most relevant for third baseman Ryan McMahon but could apply to controllable relievers Jake Bird, Vodnik and Halvorsen.
Trading either of the latter two pitchers would have some parallels to last summer’s deal of Nick Mears — another controllable power arm with middling results — to Milwaukee. Mears was two years older than Halvorsen and Vodnik are now, and he’s a former waiver claim whom the Rockies could’ve been more willing to move than pitchers they’ve drafted or acquired in trade. Vodnik is under club control for four seasons after this one; Halvorsen has five-plus years of control.