Colorado Rockies Should Trade for Luke Hochevar

The Colorado Rockies once again will go into a new season with question marks about their pitching. With a staff thinner than the air in Denver, they should stay open to any possible starters coming to Coors Field.

They should consider dealing for Colorado native, Luke Hochevar.

The former No. 1 pick overall has been a huge disappointment in his five-plus seasons for the Kansas City Royals. His career ERA is a sky-high 5.39, and he gives up too many hits while being scored upon at a league-leading clip.

But he has shown flashes of brilliance and could benefit from a change of scenery. Or perhaps he needs to come home. Hochevar was born in Denver and graduated from Fowler, Colorado High School before becoming a star at the University of Tennessee.

The Royals, who are in the middle of a makeover of their pitching staff, have been rumored to be trying to deal Hochevar. Troy Renck of The Denver Post wrote on his Twitter feed that the Rockies and Royals discussed a deal involving Hochevar. But his $4 million price tag made him cost-prohibitive for Colorado.

While $4 million might seem like a lot for a pitcher whose ERA is north of five, the Rockies should consider the price of pitching today.

A pitcher like Kevin Correia or Jason Marquis or Roberto Hernandez (a.k.a. Fausto Carmona) can command money in that general range and they all had rotten years as well. So a $4 million deal, especially for only one year, might not be the worst deal.

The Rockies have an excess of infielders and probably a deal for Hochevar would only cost them one player.

The best-case scenario is Hochevar pitches well away from Kansas City, and coming home means he finally fulfills his promise that he had when he was the No. 1 pick overall.

The worst-case scenario is the Rockies have a bad pitcher for one season.

It is worth the risk.