Report: Rockies have ‘high’ asking price for relief pitchers on trade market

The MLB trade deadline is now under a week away, and the Colorado Rockies have yet to make a move to build for the future. The deadline flood gates opened on Thursday night as the Seattle Mariners acquired Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks, so a healthy amount of moves should be happening across the league in the coming days.

For the Rockies, they have a handful of relief pitchers that they can potentially deal away following the club’s trade that sent Ryan McMahon to the New York Yankees. However, recent reports indicate that the Rockies’ brass is being stringent with their asking price, making it difficult for a deal to get done.

According to The Athletic, the phones are ringing down on Blake Street as the Rockies listen to offers for Victor Vodnik and Seth Halvorsen. However, they “want a big return” on those guys, which is likely the reason for why a deal hasn’t been completed yet.

While the Rockies should get good value for those two pitchers, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to send them out of town. Yes, the team is not in a good spot right now, but Vodnik and Halvorsen are two young, serviceable pitchers who are under team control through 2029 and 2030, respectively. They have both shown flashes that they can grow and become good pitchers, and the fact that they’re under team control for the next handful of seasons is a big bonus.

Halvorsen’s four-seam fastball is the third-fastest in the league among qualified pitchers with an average velocity of 100.1 MPH. Vodnik’s is just behind him in 13th place at 98.5 MPH. Those are both lethal numbers that can be valuable to a rebuilding team over the next couple of seasons.

Seth Halvorsen, 101mph Paint. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/86i4iCFfju

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 17, 2024

Victor Vodnik 💯⛽️ pic.twitter.com/14g5jxRjKR

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 19, 2025

Rockies fans are too familiar with it though. The Rockies front office will do the opposite of whatever makes sense.

Bird also has a decent amount of team control, but his age would make him a better trade candidate rather than a building block for the future. The 29-year-old has had a good season despite recent struggles, and could be a valuable piece on a contender. He doesn’t have the same velocity that Vodnik and Halvorsen have, but showed an uncanny ability to strike batters out throughout the first part of the season before he lost his mojo.

Colorado did deal Nick Mears to Milwaukee at the deadline last year, but he was an older pitcher on an expiring contract. It was a fine deal for the club, but it’s not on the same level as a potential Vodnik or Halvorsen deal. After years of not being willing to trade pitchers at the deadline, the mindset changed within the Rockies’ front office last year, and could perhaps be a sign of what’s to come if a middle ground can be found between Colorado’s price and the other teams.

The MLB trade deadline is at 4:00 p.m. MDT on July 31.

Related

Rockies pound Royals as Goodman blasts two homers on a four-hit nightRockies match 2025 win total as Sugano delivers gemBrenton Doyle activated as Rockies OF crowds ahead of deadlineRockies asking price for Hunter Goodman revealedRockies fall for 14th time in last 15 games in San DiegoRockies’ four errors, bullpen woes lead to 8-7 loss in San Diego