Colorado Rockies Rumors and Free Agent Targets Update

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Oct 1, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Mark Melancon (43) jogs onto the field from the bullpen against the Miami Marlins in the eighth inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Pitchers

Mark Melancon

He’s a native of the Denver area and the Rockies are looking to upgrade their bullpen. There’s a lot about Melancon that makes sense … but there are also a lot of teams out there who are chasing the closer as well.

It’s quite possible that a pair of National League West rivals have Melancon in their sites as well. Our friends at Dodgers Way report that Los Angeles wanted Melancon at the trade deadline last year. Jon Morosi of MLB Network and Fox Sports has tweeted that Melancon has visited with the Giants about opening in their bullpen.

After a World Series that showcased Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman and reinforced the value of a dominant arm in the bullpen, many teams (including the Rockies) will look to replicate that formula in 2017. That makes Melancon, Chapman and Kenley Jansen even more valuable and within striking distance of big paydays.

Melancon will not come cheap (MLBTradeRumors is predicting a four-year, $52 million deal with the Giants) so the Rockies will need to prove they’re truly ready to spend for free agents in order to land him.

Neftali Feliz

MLBTradeRumors has Feliz being the one top free agent pitcher on the market that the Rockies actually land. He’s one of the game’s best setup men and could play a nice role in Colorado’s bullpen with Adam Ottavino finishing games.

However, the Melancon effect could make an impact here. If Washington loses Melancon, there are reports that the Nationals might look at Feliz for their bullpen. Once again, it may come down to a bidding war … and that may not bode well for the Rockies.

Brad Ziegler

We talked about Ziegler in this article and the impact he could have on the Colorado bullpen. He’s not going to bring the price tag of the elite closers we mentioned above, but he’s still not going to be cheap (a projected two-year, $16 million contract has been floated out there by MLBTradeRumors).

Next: 5 Head-Scratching Numbers from Colorado's 2016 Season

Knowing that Ziegler was with Boston last season, the Red Sox may be the early front-runner to retain his services. There are also plenty of other teams who would love to have a pitcher who induces so many grounders.

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