Rockies Trade Rumors: Boone Logan Done as a Rockie?

Jun 29, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Boone Logan (48) delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Coors Field. The Blue Jays defeated the Rockies 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 29, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Boone Logan (48) delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Coors Field. The Blue Jays defeated the Rockies 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Colorado Rockies terrific turnaround since the All-Star break (12-5 record) has turned this team from a potential seller to at worst a team who will rely on who they have to get them to the second Wild Card berth. With the combination of keeping their existing players with reinforcements brought up from the minors, the Rockies indeed have a good shot at reaching this goal. However, the one Rockie who keeps getting mentioned in being dealt before the deadline tomorrow is reliever Boone Logan.

Boone Logan had a rough outing today, but his season has been superb. He has a 3.19 ERA (second on the team), an opponent batting average of just .151 and a WHIP of 0.90.

Per MLB Trade Rumors, with Logan being in the final year of his contract, he is an attractive rental option for a contending team:

"As we explained in our breakdown of the market for relief pitching, Logan could be one of the best rental relievers available — he carries an outstanding 17.1% swinging strike rate and finally has the results (2.40 ERA) to go along with the swing-and-miss stuff that he has displayed over his three years in Colorado."

The Rockies do have two other left-handed bullpen options in Jake McGee and Chris Rusin, which might make Logan expendable, but neither of these guys instill much confidence when they are on the mound (5.40 ERA and 4.12 ERA respectively, seven losses between them).

It is not known what Colorado would want for Logan in return, but you would think it would have to be for at least two pitchers – one established and one prospect or two good prospects. General manager Jeff Bridich won’t give Logan away for a ham sandwich – the team is in contention for a Wild Card berth and is playing some of the best baseball in the league since the break.

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Perhaps the likelihood of Logan being traded is overblown. Per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Rockies are open to trading Logan but don’t appear to be “desperate” to do it:

The other trade candidates in Carlos Gonzalez and Charlie Blackmon are not leaving town, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports. Other players such as Nick Hundley and Mark Reynolds have not been mentioned in weeks. The Rockies will probably wait to see how the rest of the season pans out before they make any decisions on Gonzalez and Blackmon, per Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors:

"While CarGo is a perennial trade candidate, the Rockies’ excellent play since the All-Star break has the team back at .500 and within a stone’s throw of a Wild Card playoff berth. Whether the Rockies will actually remain in the hunt remains to be seen, especially as other clubs in the race move to fortify their rosters, but Colorado has looked impressive as of late and could always extract value in trades of Gonzalez and/or Blackmon in the offseason if the club falls shy this season and wishes to add more pitching to its minor league ranks over the winter."

Of course anything can happen before the 2:00 p.m MT deadline tomorrow, but expect the Rockies to mostly stand pat. The only player who will get traded is Logan. There will be one contending team who is very keen to add a left-handed reliever who has had the success that Logan has had in 2016.

The Rockies, in return, will hopefully get at least two arms who can add value to the team in 2017 and beyond. We won’t see the craziness here in Colorado, but tomorrow should be an interesting day!

Next: Colorado Rockies Wild Card Chase: Sizing up the Competition

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com unless otherwise indicated.