The Rockies and Dodgers lined up on an intra-division commerce that’ll see hard-throwing righty Seth Halvorsen go from Colorado to L.A. in change for minor league righty Nick Frasso and minor league outfielder Landyn Vidourek. The groups have introduced the swap. Halvorsen is on the 15-day injured record attributable to shoulder irritation for the time being, so he’ll head to Triple-A Oklahoma Metropolis to complete off a rehab project he lately began. The Dodgers can then determine whether or not to formally possibility him upon his activation or convey him proper to the main league bullpen.
The 26-year-old Halvorsen brings mammoth fastball velocity, shaky command and greater than 5 seasons of membership management to the Dodgers. Colorado’s seventh-round choose again in 2023, he appeared within the majors barely a 12 months after being drafted and has now amassed 71 innings throughout components of three main league seasons. He’s posted a pedestrian 4.31 ERA in that point however carried out so with large velocity (99.6 mph common on the four-seamer), a pointy 12.4% swinging-strike price and a robust 48.8% ground-ball price. Halvorsen has walked a bloated 12.1% of his opponents and been far too homer-prone (1.52 HR/9), however there are numerous fascinating parts in his profile.
Halvorsen sports activities an unappealing 4.74 ERA in 19 main league innings this season, however he’s posted a 2.04 ERA, 32.4% strikeout price, 9.5% stroll price and 45.2% grounder price whereas averaging an absurd 99.9 mph on his heater in 17 1/3 Triple-A innings. That is the primary season through which he’s used a minor league possibility. He’ll have two extra possibility years remaining after this one.
Halvorsen joins the Dodgers as one thing of a improvement challenge, however that’s an space through which L.A. has excelled. They’ve expended comparatively humble acquisition prices so as to add gamers like Evan Phillips, Will Klein, Alex Vesia, Anthony Banda and others in recent times, occurring to coax sturdy bullpen performances from all of them. That’s not an exhaustive record of each Dodgers bullpen success story, and there are many misses alongside the way in which as properly, however the group has a transparent competency with regards to unlocking greater performances from talented-but-unestablished bullpen arms of this nature.
Addressing the bullpen isn’t a dire want for the Dodgers, however that’s to be anticipated for a crew with a Main League Baseball-best 63-37 document. Los Angeles doesn’t essentially have many obtrusive deficiencies, however each contender is at all times on the hunt for bullpen assist. Bringing in an arm with any such energy repertoire and remaining membership management/minor league choices is all of the extra interesting.
Halvorsen joins a number of essential Dodgers relievers on the main league injured record. Edwin Díaz has been out since late April after having a bone spur faraway from his elbow. Blake Treinen hit the injured record in mid-June attributable to elbow irritation. Brusdar Graterol hasn’t pitched this season and underwent again surgical procedure on June 1. Ben Casparius, an important arm for the ’25 Dodgers, has been out since mid-April attributable to shoulder irritation.
The present bullpen group stays sturdy. Tanner Scott is having fun with a rebound season and has greater than capably crammed the nearer position for the injured Díaz. Klein, Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez and Jack Dreyer all have earned run averages underneath 3.00. Henriquez and Vesia are at 2.25 and a pair of.14, respectively. It’s a robust group that’ll solely get even deeper if Díaz could make a full restoration. That mentioned, Henriquez is the one member of this group who can match — or, in his case, exceed — Halvorsen’s velocity.
In change for a high-upside, extremely risky bullpen play in Halvorsen, the Rockies will purchase a former top-100 prospect (Frasso) and a participant the Dodgers chosen within the third spherical simply final summer time (Vidourek). Colorado basic supervisor Josh Byrnes — second on the crew’s baseball ops hierarchy behind president Paul DePodesta — is eminently conversant in each gamers. Byrnes, who was employed this previous offseason, spent greater than a decade within the Dodgers’ entrance workplace as their senior vp of baseball operations.
Frasso, 27, has but to pitch within the majors (although he does have two days of MLB service). He’s a 2020 fourth-round choose (Blue Jays) that the Dodgers initially acquired within the 2022 commerce sending right-hander Mitch White to Toronto. Two years later, Frasso cracked the again finish of the top-100 lists at MLB.com (No. 80), Baseball America (No. 97) and Baseball Prospectus (No. 79).
Accidents have incessantly set Frasso again. Not lengthy after cracking these top-100 rankings, he wound up requiring surgical procedure to restore the labrum in his proper shoulder. That spring harm naturally worn out his total 2024 marketing campaign.
Frasso, who’d been a starter up till that time in his minor league profession, returned in 2025 and pitched 77 innings with diminished outcomes throughout a season cut up between beginning and relieving. A late-Might transfer to the ‘pen didn’t do a lot to enhance Frasso’s middling ERA, however his strikeout and stroll charges improved dramatically in reduction. He’d been sitting between 14-15% in each classes however jumped to 23.4% and 10.7% upon being moved to the ‘pen full time.
This 12 months, Frasso has labored completely as a reliever (apart from a 1 2/3-inning “begin” as an opener) and posted a 4.74 ERA with an enormous 35.1% strikeout price in opposition to an unsightly 14.9% stroll price. Additional distancing himself from that 2024 surgical procedure has restored some life to his arsenal. He sat 94.6 mph on his four-seamer in 2025 however is at 96.2 mph up to now in 2026. His swinging-strike price has jumped from 9.3% to a hearty 12.7%. His opponents’ chase price has surged from a poor 24.5% to a robust 33%; opponents have gone from a 78.1% contact price to only 72%. The ERA won’t be a lot to take a look at, however past the shoddy command, Frasso has been dogged by a through-the-roof .407 common on balls in play — regardless of holding opponents to a median exit velocity of solely 87.1 mph and a paltry 32.1% hard-hit price.
Since Frasso has but to make his main league debut, he nonetheless has his total slate of membership management remaining. The Rockies may name him as much as the majors and management him for six seasons past the present one — all through 2032. Frasso is already in his remaining minor league possibility 12 months, nevertheless, so he’ll want to interrupt camp with the crew in 2027 or else be traded or uncovered to waivers. With that in thoughts, it’d behoove the Rox to get an actual have a look at him within the season’s remaining couple months.
The 22-year-old Vidourek is a toolsy however contact-challenged outfielder whom the Dodgers took with the No. 104 general choose final summer time. He’s hitting simply .170/.332/.311 in 256 Low-A plate appearances this season, due in no small half to an enormous 38.7% swinging-strike price.
Vidourek attracts reward for above-average uncooked energy, plus pace and a plus-plus arm within the outfield. The College of Cincinnati product additionally posted standout exit velocity, barrel charges and hard-hit charges in his transient minor league profession. When Vidourek does make contact, it’s sometimes impactful, however he’ll must considerably cut back his swing-and-miss to have hope of turning into an everyday.
The Dodgers have been taking part in Vidourek in middle subject this season. FanGraphs famous again in December that he was likelier to finish up in proper subject as he continues to fill out an athletic 6’1″, 192-pound body. Baseball America touted his 70-grade throwing arm as the very best within the Dodgers’ total system.
There’s rather a lot to love with Vidourek, however the penchant for whiffs is a obtrusive, distinguished crimson flag. Given his mix of energy, pace and protection, Vidourek doesn’t must all of the sudden develop a plus hit software with the intention to turn out to be a possible common within the majors, however the present price of whiffs — significantly within the low minors — merely gained’t lower it.
Vidourek has the potential to considerably (and rapidly) enhance his inventory if he can hone his bat-to-ball expertise, however the Dodgers have been keen to take that threat due not solely to their need to amass a controllable high-octane reliever but in addition to the outfield depth within the system general. Heart fielder Andy Pages is managed via the 2030 season, and the Dodgers extremely have three outfielders ranked inside the highest 20 on Baseball America’s newest top-100 record: Josue De Paula (No. 4), Mike Sirota (No. 14) and Eduardo Quintero (No. 18). Zyhir Hope, ranked No. 55 at BA, provides the Dodgers a fourth high-profile outfield prospect. The Rockies aren’t practically as deep in outfield prospects — or prospects normally — so that they’ll purchase a particularly tooled-up prospect in hopes of catching him earlier than his inventory soars.
Joel Sherman of the New York Put up first reported that Halvorsen was being traded to the Dodgers for a pair of minor leaguers. His colleague, Jon Heyman, first reported the names of the 2 prospects.
