Dodgers' First Trade Deadline Addition Already Looks Like a Completely Different Pitcher

The Los Angeles Dodgers started trade season early, acquiring right-hander pitcher Seth Halvorsen from the Colorado Rockies last week.

The Dodgers sent two prospects — outfielder Landyn Vidourek and right-handed pitcher Nick Frasso — to Colorado for the 26-year-old reliever with tons of team control and multiple years of minor league options.

In a very short amount of time, he's already showing his value to the organization.

Halvorsen has made two appearances for the Oklahoma City Comets, the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate. He's pitched 2.1 scoreless innings with one strikeout and two hits allowed. But how he's doing it is the real story.

With the Rockies this year, Halvorsen averaged 98.8 mph on his fastball, which ranked in the 98th percentile in MLB. His slider averaged 86.2 mph, while his splitter averaged 90.2 mph.

In one week with the Dodgers organization, those numbers have all dramatically improved.

Halvorsen's fastball is averaging 100.2 mph, and has topped out at 101.6 mph. Both his slider (88.3 mph) and splitter (92.3 mph) are up 2.1 mph.

The Dodgers clearly found something in his delivery to unlock significantly more velocity. He'll likely continue to work with the adjustments in Triple-A, and could very quickly become an option at the big league level.

Seth Halvorsen gets the strikeout on a 101mph fastball 😳 pic.twitter.com/DZjWPFWaxX
— Hyeseong Kim Muse 김혜성 (Fan account) (@HyeseongKimMuse) July 26, 2026

Halvorsen has made 75 appearances in MLB across parts of three seasons with the Rockies. He has a career 4.31 ERA over 71 innings with 66 strikeouts to 38 walks.

Dodgers Bullpen Struggling One Week Before Trade Deadline

While Halvorsen continues to work in Triple-A, the Dodgers are continuing to see struggles from their bullpen at the major league level.

The Dodgers' bullpen ERA of 3.94 ranks 13th in MLB. However, since June 1, the Dodgers bullpen has an ERA of 4.88, which ranks 21st in MLB.

On Sunday, Dodgers relievers allowed seven runs as LA blew a chance to complete a sweep of the New York Mets. Left-hander Jack Dreyer walked two while recording one out, Evan Phillips relieved him and gave up a three-run home run and then Will Klein allowed four runs in his one inning of work.

“I like what these guys have done, as far as the body of work,” manager Dave Roberts said of his relievers. “But the reality is that Klein is trying to find his way again. I think Evan, I think I’ve got to give him some different situations. So I think that’s where it’s at. And today, Jack, I had a great lane, and he just can’t walk two guys in an inning.”

“I think that they’ve got to start getting back to getting ahead,” Roberts added. “For what we’re trying to do, it’s just got to be better.”

The Dodgers are getting one key piece back this week in Edwin Díaz, who made just seven appearances this season before undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow.

Díaz will retake his spot as the team's closer, allowing Roberts to utilize the dominant Tanner Scott in more of a fireman role. The middle-inning guys still need to be better, though.

The Dodgers could look to add another reliever ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline. They could also call upon Halvorsen sooner rather than later to see if he can make a late-season impact.

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