Over the past week, the Chicago Cubs have acquired two left-handed relievers in two separate trades. Those trades may give an indication as to what Boone Logan‘s value is on the market today.
Logan is perhaps the most obvious piece that may be dealt from the Colorado Rockies. With one year left on his contract and a resurgence of a season he’s unlikely to be in Colorado long term. His stellar 1.91 FIP is second best in the National League among all relievers and third among all left-handed relievers in baseball. Somebody, somewhere making a playoff run could use the 31-year-old.
Here’s a quick look at the two trades made thus far for left-handed relievers:
Cubs acquire
P Mike Montgomery, P Jordan Pries
Seattle Mariners acquire
1B Dan Vogelbach, P Paul Blackburn
Cubs acquire
LHP Aroldis Chapman
New York Yankees acquire
RHP Adam Warren, SS Gleyber Torres, OF Billy McKinney, OF Rashad Crawford
Montgomery and Chapman are different pitchers and in different points of their career. But each received a haul in return for the teams dealing them. The Mariners got the Cubs 20th-best prospect who absolutely tears the cover off the ball in Vogelbach, and a former sandwich pick (56th overall in 2012) in Blackburn, for Montgomery. Meanwhile, the Yankees landed the Cubs number one prospect in Torres, fifth best in McKinney and MLB-quality pitcher Warren for Chapman.
Logan is not a closer like Chapman and doesn’t have the team control that Montgomery does but he has been just as good of a pitcher. While mainly filling the LOOGY (left-handed one out guy) role, the comparison here is still fair. It’s likely what the Rockies will base the market on when they field phone calls.
What is Logan worth then?
That’s a tough question and depends on what’s left on the market. Is Andrew Miller of the Yankees still available? If he’s not, Logan becomes the top option for teams looking for a LOOGY.
With that in mind, a team could easily overpay but fair value is probably right around the 10th best prospect in a decent system. Looking at the San Francisco Giants system — since they have been linked to the discussion on Logan — gives a clearer picture of what the Rockies may get back.
A dream scenario for the Rockies would be Giants’ No. 5 prospect Chris Shaw. The 22-year-old was the Giants sandwich pick in 2015 at 31st overall. He’s a left-handed hitting, right-handed fielding first baseman with 60-grade power according to MLB.com. He has struggled in his taste of Double-A this season in the Eastern League but he could fit the Rockies need for a first baseman long term.
Other prospects the Rockies could ask for in a deal with the Giants are No. 12 RHP Ray Black, No. 16 RHP Kyle Crick or No. 17 OF/2B Hunter Cole. All represent what the Rockies are targeting or should target. Black and Crick have extremely high rated fastballs while Cole is a right-handed bat, something the Rockies have a lack of in their system.
The Giants are just one team, but looking into their organization and the two trades made today it’s easier to see what the Rockies could get back in a deal for Boone Logan.
