Multiple Reports: Torrealba, Herges Back in the Fold

by David OhNo on Nov 28, 2007 8:27 PM MST in Rockpile

Multiple sources are now saying that the Rockies have returned both Torrealba and Herges for the '08 season. If you're a Post person, you'll like this link. If the News is more your thing, try this one. Also, hat tip to roxfan4life for breaking this on the Row.

On the Torrealba front, it appears the Rockies have won out, landing Torrealba for the initial offer they handed him at the onset of free agency. I'm still not a big Torrealba fan, but this deal makes sense on several fronts. First, it will allow the Rockies to be more comfortable opening the year with the young Latin pitchers in the rotation. Second, at just 3.5 mil a year, the Rockies won't be crippled if Torrealba's offense drops in the tank and Iannetta takes over the job, either at some point in '08, or possibly '09. The links also not most importantly, that Torrealba did not fail a physical with the Mets, and that instead the Mets balked on three years. This removes concerns over the abrupt ending of the Mets courtship. While Torrealba was not my personal first choice, I will say that for the price, the Rockies made the best possible move they could at the catcher position.

As for Herges, the Rockies again seem to have won out in the negotiations and landed him on a one year deal. Herges was arguably the second most valuable reliever In the Rockies' pen this season, but at the same time, his success is heavily tied to an unrepeatable BABIP. By only offering one year, the Rockies can look to see if he has any more lightning left in the bottle before he turns back into the pumpkin his career has largely been (yes, that's too many metaphors). This isn't a significant commitment, but does reward Herges for his efforts and gives the bullpen another reliable veteran to mesh with what could be an influx of youngsters.

Based on the early reports, I believe O'Dowd succeeded with both moves and accurately pegged the value of both players while not over-extending the team's commitment to them. However, it is important to note that while both moves are good moves, they do not make the team better, per say. The Rockies don't need to be as concerned with being "as good" as they were last year (speaking of the 89 win regular season), but need to focus on still improving the roster to squeeze even more wins out of 162 games. Herges and Torrealba plug holes they created by filing for free agency, but, obviously, they don't bring upgrades to other parts of the roster.

It's a great start, but there's still much work to be done if we want to continue watching this team into next October again.

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here is form the main site

http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071128&content_id=2313413&vkey=news_c ol&fext=.jsp&c_id=col

and the twins land delmon young good news cause wernt the dodgers lookin at him?

here is that link
http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071128&content_id=2313175&vkey=hotsto ve2007&fext=.jsp

a good day for rockies baseball no doubt

at least we have the rockies cause the broncos suck

by roxfan4life on Nov 28, 2007 9:42 PM MST reply actions

Good moves, both.

Neither moves us ahead both both keep us from sliding back. Wonder what the A's want for Dan Haren...

Also great to see another future superstar miss landing with the Dodgers.

by Since1993 on Nov 28, 2007 11:41 PM MST reply actions

i would be satisfied

getting santana haren or bedard

i would give up a bunch of the farm for em even if they are 2 year rentals. it would be worth it if we won one or 2 world series

at least we have the rockies cause the broncos suck

by roxfan4life on Nov 28, 2007 11:54 PM MST reply actions

Haren and Hawkins Rumors:

On Haren, he's on the Mets wish list. My take is teams with good starting pitching are asking king's ransom's for them (supply and demand thing) From Yahoo who got this from Newsday:

Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007 10:10 am EST
Newsday theorized the New York Mets don't appear to have the chips necessary to compete with the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers for Johan Santana.

According to Newsday, the Mets will look further west for a starting pitcher and once again lead him to the door of Athletics GM Billy Beane, who possesses two excellent alternatives to Santana in Dan Haren and Joe Blanton.

With few other places to turn for an elite starter, Minaya is at the mercy of Beane, whose demands will be steep. Unlike past years, when Beane was forced to act because of pending free agency, both Haren and Blanton aren't necessarily going anywhere.

New rumor on LaTroy Hawkins:
Thursday, Nov 29, 2007 10:29 am EST

There are indications that the Detroit Tigers have offered free agent reliever LaTroy Hawkins a multi-year contract.

Detroit is one of several teams interested in Hawkins, a 34-year-old right-hander who went 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA in 62 relief appearances with the Colorado Rockies this season.

Source: Detroit Free Press

I miss baseball. Chairman of the re-sign Kazuo Matsui sub-committee!

by Redhawk on Nov 29, 2007 9:42 AM MST up reply actions

Hawkins

If he can get a multi-year deal somewhere, good for him. No way should the Rox give him one, though.

by BroJB @ Purple Row on Nov 29, 2007 2:18 PM MST up reply actions

Herges

I think included a club option on a 2nd year....just an FYI.

The only question on Torrealba's deal is whether it includes a club option or a "vested option" that automatically gets picked up based on something like total AB..etc.. (which was discussed over the past few weeks in the papers)

by sg8335aa on Nov 29, 2007 4:39 AM MST reply actions

I believe Torrealba's is a mutual option

which means it will likely require a buyout of some sort for that third year, should the Rockies decide to head that route.

by David OhNo on Nov 29, 2007 7:05 AM MST up reply actions

Herges and Torrealba...

I'm glad we resigned Herges, he was so good last year that we would be worse off to start the year if we hadn't signed him. He's a good player, hopefully he will play well next year too.

Torrealba played well in the clutch, and he'll make a good crutch, but Iannetta needs a chance to win or lose the job. He needs more At Bats and he caught Francis and Cook well over the 2007 season.

There's only one Rocktober!!

by Charlie77 on Nov 29, 2007 9:49 AM MST reply actions

One down side to signing Torrealba...

I was hoping the Rockies would get a draft pick for him. Down the road, I think it probably would have been worth more.

by DenverBears on Nov 29, 2007 10:33 AM MST reply actions

Highly Debateable.....

That pick could just as easily get injured or flame out.....and we can just as easily end up with nothing.

Present value is worth more than you think. Especially if the Rockies have a 2-3 year window while all players are under club control to compete for a World Series.

by sg8335aa on Nov 29, 2007 4:56 PM MST up reply actions