The Colorado Rockies wasted no time getting the ball rolling. Trading reliever Seth Halvorsen to the National League West rival Los Angeles Dodgers for two prospects on Monday, July 20. Preempting the most important trade deadline for the Rockies in years. It will establish the direction Colorado’s new front office will take as it works to get back to winning baseball in Colorado. But Director of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta and company might have already answered that question based on their activity this offseason and today.
Seth Halvorsen Traded to Dodgers
Why wait until the deadline to begin the action? The Rockies’ front office was active on the trade market this offseason, acquiring reliever Brennan Bernardino from the Boston Red Sox, TJ Rumfield from the New York Yankees, and Jake McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks. All trades that have worked out very well for the Rockies, with two of those players perhaps being on the move again at the deadline.
This trade didn’t see Major League talent brought back to the Rockies as the others mentioned above. But it continued the trend of the Rockies successfully maximizing all of the assets at their disposal. Halvorsen saw time as the Rockies’ closer last year, finishing 2025 with 11 saves. But was shut down for the season after suffering a right elbow strain following an outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 2.
Halvorsen, nicknamed “Gas”, was in the 100th percentile of Major League Baseball in 2025 with a 98.8 mph fastball velocity. But he struggled with consistency last season, finishing with three blown saves and a 4.99 ERA. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster this year due to some major struggles in Spring Training. But made his season debut on April 23 and was mostly solid for the Rockies, posting scoreless outings in 15 of his 21 chances.
His velocity has seen a slight drop to 98.8 mph this season but still ranks near the top of baseball. The bigger concern is more injury issues. Halvorsen’s last outing with the Rockies was on June 30, as he went on the 15-day IL on July 1 with right shoulder inflammation. It doesn’t appear to be serious, however, as Halvorsen recently began a rehab assignment on July 19.
Upside For Both Sides in Rare Intra-Division Deal
The Rockies’ new front office has already made more NL West trades (two) since January than the entire division from 2020-24 (one trade between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres). Per Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com, it is the first trade between the two organizations since November 2014. The perks of finally bringing in new voices and the wealth of NL West experience General Manager Josh Byrnes brings to Colorado. Byrnes was the Diamondbacks’ GM from 2005-10, the San Diego Padres GM from 2011-14, and spent 2015-2025 as the Senior Vice President of Operations for the Dodgers.
It is easy to imagine Halvorsen flourishing in Los Angeles with the high velocity that he possesses. Although he was worse on the road, any pitcher getting out of Coors’ shadow is always a plus. Meanwhile, for the Rockies, they get good value out of a high-upside reliever who dealt with inconsistency and injuries in his short Rockies tenure. The Rockies received Landyn Vidourek (Dodgers’ 25th overall prospect per MLB Pipeline) and RHP Nick Frasso in return.
The Return for the Rockies
Vidourek was a third-round draft pick by the Dodgers out of the University of Cincinnati in 2025. At 6’1″, 192 lbs, Vidourek was drafted in the third round for his speed and power potential. In 59 games with the Class-A Ontario Buzzers this season, Vidourek has hit just .170 with a .643 OPS. But he has hit six home runs and 24 RBI. The left-handed batter will start with the Low-A Fresno Grizzlies in the Rockies organization.
Frasso was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Loyola Marymount University. The RHP was traded to the Dodgers in 2022 and played 43 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2025. Starting seven of those games for Oklahoma City last season but has just one start in 21 games this season.
Additionally, he has a very impressive 14.6 K/9 this season, up from 7.9 last season. He has allowed just one earned run in seven outings since June 20, with 16 Ks to five BBs in that span. Frasso will look to continue that strikeout production with Triple-A Albuquerque for a Rockies club that could definitely use some more of it.
Main Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
