Colorado Rockies rumors: Could Pedro Severino be a trade target?

SAN DIEGO — As baseball’s Winter Meetings kicked off today here in San Diego, the Colorado Rockies were linked to a rumor in their continued efforts to upgrade at catcher.

A tweet stated that the Colorado Rockies had spoken to the Baltimore Orioles about a trade involving Orioles catcher Pedro Severino. MLB.com’s Thomas Harding (who retweeted the Severino rumor tweet) called the rumor “interesting” and has written that the Rockies are potentially looking to trade in order to fill the second catcher role on the roster (along with Tony Wolters) and alleviate some of the salary issues currently facing the Rockies.

A trade could involve a team taking on one of Colorado’s handcuffing contracts (such as Bryan Shaw, Jake McGee or Daniel Murphy) or could require the Rockies to give up a prospect.

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Last season, the 26-year-old Severino appeared in 96 games for the Orioles, the most in a five-year career split between the Washington Nationals and Orioles. It was also his best statistically season as he hit 13 home runs and drove in 44 while slashing .249/.321/.420.

Baseball-Reference.com listed his WAR as 1.2 last season. Wolters compiled a 1.4.

According to Spotrac, Severino is scheduled to make $583,500 this season and has three years of arbitration left. Simply put, he fits into Colorado’s budget and potential future plans.

So he fits into the scheme … but would this trade be able to help the Rockies move some salary? That’s perhaps the biggest question here. Our colleagues at BirdsWatcher.com who cover the Orioles believe starting pitching is at the top of Baltimore’s wish list now that Dylan Bundy has been traded. With Colorado looking to dump reliever contracts, that may not be a match.

Would the Rockies be willing to move a prospect for Severino? Recent history would indicate it’s likely they wouldn’t. Certainly it has been done, but it’s not common.

Severino also doesn’t fit into the “veteran catcher” role that has been linked to the Rockies so often in the offseason. Dom Nunez is likely headed for Triple-A to gather more experience, so is 201 career games from Severino enough? Likely no since Wolters has 349 career games under his belt.

While at Winter Meetings this week, we will keep digging to see if there is any truth to this rumor.