DENVER (AP) — Colorado general manager Josh Byrnes helped orchestrate a trade with his former team Monday as the Rockies sent right-hander Seth Halvorsen to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor league players.
Halvorsen is eligible to come off the 15-day injured list after being placed on it earlier this month with inflammation in his right shoulder. He is 0-1 with a 4.74 ERA across 21 appearances this season.
As part of the deal, Colorado picked up right-handed pitcher Nick Frasso and outfielder Landyn Vidourek from the Dodgers.
Byrnes knows the Los Angeles farm system after spending more than a decade in the front office with the team. He left in December to join forces with Paul DePodesta, the Rockies’ president of baseball operations, in an effort to turn around a franchise that’s trying to break a string of three straight 100-loss seasons.
The 27-year-old Frasso was 1-0 with a 4.74 ERA with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. He was picked up by the Dodgers as part of a deal with Toronto on Aug. 2, 2022. Frasso was ranked the 80th overall prospect in baseball before the 2024 season by MLB.com.
He will report to Triple-A Albuquerque.
Vidourek, a third-round pick out of the University of Cincinnati in 2025, is hitting .176 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs in the minors this season. He’s slated to report to Single-A Fresno.
“It wasn’t something we were sort of anxious to do,” DePodesta explained Monday before the start of a three-game series with the Washington Nationals. “But in this case, we were presented with an opportunity where we get a player back that we think can actually fill a similar role to what we envisioned for Seth going forward, and also take a shot at a very high upside, third-round pick from a year ago. At the end of the day, that’s what made it compelling for us.”
Colorado selected Halvorsen in the seventh round out of the University of Tennessee in 2023. The 26-year-old is 3-4 in 75 career games with the Rockies and has 13 saves.
The Rockies entered the day 23 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West. Byrnes and DePodesta figure to be fielding quite a few calls with the trade deadline in two weeks.
“When you’re in our spot in the standings, and you have players that you know are going to be attractive to other teams … there’s going to be a lot of interest,” DePodesta said.
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