Colorado Rockies sign Boone Logan

Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies continued a solid off-season when it comes to bolstering their pitching staff on Thursday night, signing left-handed relief pitcher Boone Logan to a three-year deal.

Troy Renck of the Denver Post reported the signing last night:

This morning Renck wrote the following about the signing:

Logan, 29, has been a workhorse for the Yankees the past three seasons, appearing in 205 games. He went 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA last year and held left-handers to a .221 average in 77 at-bats.…The 6-foot-5, 215-pounder began his career with the Chicago White Sox, pitched for the Atlanta Braves in 2009 and spent the past four seasons with the Yankees. He limited right-handed hitters to a .254 average in 63 at-bats last season.

The Rockies took on Brett Anderson‘s salary (with some relief from the A’s) and now they are throwing down some money to add Logan. As Renck notes, this contract lines up with the one left-handed reliever Joe Smith received from the Los Angeles Angels earlier this off-season. The Rockies were also interested in Smith but were unable to sign him; we now know that was not an issue of cost with the Rockies signing Logan to similar money.

This Colorado front office has been bashed, time and again, for their refusal to spend enough money to contend. At times that criticism has been valid, but I don’t think it has been in recent years. Yes, payroll was down last year, but I believe that’s because they make a genuine effort to pick their spots when they will spend more money; they do not spend just for the sake of spending or to alleviate the concerns of their fan base. The execution might be sorely lacking more often than not, but it is hard to fault the philosophy for a team that took years and years and years to recover from Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle.

This off-season is another good example. Yes, $16.3 million isn’t exactly a world-shattering amount of money. Signing Logan won’t lead Sportscenter or put the Rockies on the national radar, but it is still a great pick-up. Would you rather have the Rockies spend $60 million on four years of a 32-year-old Curtis Granderson?

The Rockies are always faced with the challenge of building a good pitching staff that can do well enough in a challenging environment. They can never afford to take the talent they think they have for granted. Their additions this week represent smart moves and set them up to have a solid pitching staff all the way through the bullpen this season.

Yes, seriously.