The Rockies could be dealing a former Tennessee pitcher in the immediate future, according to a report from Katie Woo and Will Sammon of The Athletic.
Rockies relief pitcher Seth Halvorsen is the one on the trading block. He’s currently working as the team’s closer with a team-high 10 saves to go with a 4.89 ERA.
The report from Woo and Sammon states that the Rockies “would want a big return” for Halvorsen.
The hard-throwing right-hander has 40 appearances on the year with 10 saves in 38.2 innings on the mound. He’s recorded 35 strikeouts, 18 walks, 25 runs, 21 earned runs, and four holds. He’s primarily used a four-seam fastball for his attack on hitters, which averages 100.1 MPH.
There’s buzz around Halvorsen’s trade aside from The Athletic’s initial report, though. In Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan’s Top 50 MLB trade deadline candidates list from Sunday, the former Tennessee pitcher was listed as the No. 31 prospect to get traded. It is important to note that the list from ESPN (and Halvorsen’s No. 31 ranking) is “by value for their new team if traded, not likelihood of being dealt.”
“He has gotten grounders at a 53.2% clip while posting middling strikeout (21.3%) and walk (11%) rates,” MLB Trade Rumors’ Anthony Franco wrote about the former Vol’s trade potential. “Halvorsen has allowed a few too many home runs, leading to a pedestrian 5.02 ERA through 37 2/3 frames.”
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Halvorsen was a seventh-round draft pick out of Tennessee in the 2023 draft after spending two seasons in Knoxville. He made his debut for the Rockies on August 30, 2024, and earned his first save less than a month later in late September. He wound up playing 12 games for the Rockies during his first season in the majors and has more than three times the appearances through this point in his second season with the team.
A trade for Halvorsen would undoubtedly put him on a better team, though the position on the potential new team would have to wait to be determined. The rebuilding Rockies have (by far) the lowest win percentage in the sport at .257 with a 27-78 record through 105 games this year.
If he is dealt, it would move him away from two other former Tennessee players in the Colorado organization. Outfielder Jordan Beck has put together a bright spot of a season for the Rockies, while former UT pitcher Chase Dollander did see 15 starts this season before being optioned to Triple-A in early July.
We won’t be hanging on to the mystery of Halvorsen’s trade potential for long, though. The MLB Trade Deadline is scheduled for Thursday, July 31, at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Vols in MLB notes.
