Shawn

Chacon

Weather reports say it is supposed to rain steadily in the New York area all day today, threatening Game 4 tonight. Chacon was 1-7 with a 4.09 ERA for the Colorado Rockies this season before being traded in July. He is 7-3 with a 2.85 ERA for the Yankees. “You can ask anybody that’s ever pitched there (Coors Field), that they don’t want to make a living there or want to try to,” Chacon said.

Chacon is expected back right after the All-Star break.

He struggled this season as the Rockies’ closer and seemed miscast in that role. If Shawn Estes is not re-signed in the off-season, there will be a vacancy in the rotation that Chacon could easily fill. The Rockies could then explore the free agent market for a reliable closer.

It’s just a matter of whether he’ll be traded or non-tendered. It will probably be a trade. There figure to be a few teams interested in him as a starter. The Yankees (for Kenny Lofton), the Red Sox (Dave Roberts) and the Blue Jays (Reed Johnson) are among those that may be looking at him.

“I like Shawn and haven’t ruled out sticking him back in our rotation if we can make it work (financially),” said O’Dowd. “We aren’t going to just give him away.” He’s really only trying to build up the former closer’s trade value. There is interest in Chacon, but a lot of teams are figuring he’ll be non-tendered.

The Rockies felt that teams weren’t making significant offers for Chacon because they believed he’d be non-tendered. This may make it easier for them to get what they want. Or they might just keep him if they can get him to avoid arbitration with a modest one-year deal.

The Padres are out of the running, but it looks like Chacon could go soon. A deal involving Marlon Byrd or Kyle Farnsworth is a possibility. The Rangers would likely offer prospects. Erik Thompson, who would have been sent to Colorado last year had Larry Walker not exercised his no-trade clause, would be one possibility.

The Rocky Mountain News speculates that the Rockies could get either Jorge Sosa or Jesus Colome from the Rays or Ian Kinsler from the Rangers in return for Chacon. Considering that Chacon would probably be non-tendered if not dealt, Colome and Kinsler seem like high prices to pay. Sosa is reasonable. The Rangers could give up one or two of their moderate-upside pitching prospects.

Colorado apparently wants more young pitching than Texas is willing to give. With Erik Thompson’s value diminished -- he’s recovering from a shoulder injury -- the Rockies have asked for Josh Rupe, one of the few high-upside arms the Rangers have.

Chacon was hit by a one-hopper in his start Saturday. If the pain from tbe bruise doesn’t lessen today, precautionary X-rays will be taken to determine if there is a break.