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.