6:59pm: The Rockies are "moving towards [the] finish line" with Logan, Renck reports (Twitter link). The club still likes Howell, Renck notes, and "talks can shift."
12:21pm: The Rockies have also had "serious" talks with Boone Logan, Renck reports (via Sulia). However, Howell is their "slight" preference between the two. Howell wants a three-year deal, adds Renck, which is likely slowing the negotiation process.
10:12am: The Rockies are targeting left-hander J.P. Howell and have "made real progress" in negotiations, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter).
Colorado has been set on adding at least one more arm to the back of its bullpen over the course of the Winter Meetings. Reports have indicated that they showed interest in Joaquin Benoit before backing off due to his price tag, and they were said to be aggressively pursuing a trade for Reds left-hander Sean Marshall earlier in the week. Renck reported yesterday that their preference is to add a left-handed arm, so the focus on Howell makes sense.
Doesn’t really fit the billing of their supposed interest in power arms
They don’t know what they’re looking for
Well, they already have some power arms back there with Bettis, Brothers and Hawkins. Also, I honestly think Nicasio will end up there too. We need a LH pitcher cause Rex will be used late.
Howell would be an excellent pickup. He has always pitched well at
Coors and had a 1.08 WHIP and has a low HR rate along with a 2.03 ERA.
This would be a very positive move. He made 2.8 last year so if they had
no problem giving 4.5 to Belisle then this should be a no brainer
considering his stats are half of Belisles.
They have actually made some pretty good moves this off season, IMO.
The guy we got in this Rule 5 has a big, big arm. 96-98 MPH. They are
looking into Boone Logan and/or JP Howell. Now, while I can understand
the hand wringing of not signing a top notch SP, I perfectly understand
why they did not. The dollars being offered to mediocre SP is
astounding and we would probably have to offer even more on top to get
them here. Anderson, if healthy, is an ace, period. That is going to
be fun to watch develop. On top of that, we will definitely see both
Butler and Gray at some point in the near future. That would be a good
rotation to have and we would even have one extra starter (Jorge, JC,
Chatwood, Anderson, Butler, Gray).
I will miss Logan in the Yankees bullpen, always was pretty solid. I will also miss his Hollywood Undead entrance song
Logan was a work horse for the Yankees with the amount of innings that he put in. He will be a good addition to any team he joins.