Colorado Rockies Aaron Harang draws interest from three teams

Aaron Harang is about to find himself out of the NL West, because the Colorado Rockies are looking to wheel-and-deal the veteran right-hander after acquiring him from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday for veteran catcher Ramon Hernandez. The Rockies also received cash considerations out of the deal from the Dodgers, and Harang was on the Dodgers trading block for pretty much the entirety of the offseason.

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Shortly after acquiring Harang, the Rockies designated the 34-year-old starter-turned-reliever for assignment, and they viewed him as future trade bait from the very start. The Rockies have been talking to teams interested in acquiring the pitcher set to make $7 million in 2013 (money the Rockies will most likely have to partially eat up), and we now know who those three teams are.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, and Houston Astros are interested in trading for Aaron Harang from the Rockies to add to the back of their starting rotation (at least, that’s how I think those teams will use him). Harang’s trade saga is one of the most perplexing in the MLB, because he was basically acquired as trade bait. It leaves fans such as myself wondering, “Why didn’t those three teams just directly trade for Harang from the Dodgers?” Either way, the Dodgers came out OK overall by adding the backup catcher they wanted and getting rid of Harang’s $7 million salary.