Imagine Mark Melancon coming out of the home bullpen at Coors Field next season. Should Rockies fans dare to dream?

I first brought up the idea last month after Rockies owner Dick Monfort addressed season-ticket holders in a letter in which he wrote: “You have invested in us and we will continue to invest in you, both in terms of growing our player payroll and providing the best service and ballpark experience in sports.”

Since then, there have been whispers suggesting the Rockies might actually be courting the former Pirates/Nationals all-star relief pitcher who once starred at Golden High School. During the general managers meetings in Scottsdale earlier this month, FanRag Sports’ John Perrotto wrote that the Rockies and Melancon have “mutual interest.”

Perrotto, by the way, covered Melancon when Melancon pitched for Pittsburgh, so he wasn’t just randomly stirring the hot stove pot.

Still, Melancon wearing Rockies purple remains a far-fetched idea. San Francisco, in desperate need of a bullpen upgrade, has reportedly already met with the right-hander and they have a bigger checkbook than the Rockies. The big-spending Dodgers also have expressed interest.

That’s important, because the price for top-quality free-agent relievers will be steep this winter. Left-hander Brett Cecil, not nearly as accomplished as Melancon, recently signed a four-year, $30.5 million contract with the Cardinals. Fireball free-agent closers Aroldis Chapman and Kenley Jansen are looking at five-year deals upwards of $75 million. I figure that Melancon, who turns 32 in the spring, will get a three- or four-year deal at around $12-14 million annually.

The idea that he would get a “hometown discount” to pitch back home in Colorado would surely be offset by the difficulties of pitching at altitude. Very few quality free-agent pitchers even consider Denver a realistic destination.

The Rockies were willing to give left-hander starter Jorge De La Rosa a two-year, $25 million contract and they signed lefty reliever Boone Logan to a three-year, $16.5 million deal. Both are free agents now and off the books.

Still, that’s small potatoes compared to what Colorado would have to spend to land Melancon. The Rockies haven’t taken a big-money risk on a pitcher since signing Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle to $175 million in contracts at the beginning of general manager Dan O’Dowd’s tenure. That proved to be a disastrous move that haunted the Rockies for years.

And yet, general manager Jeff Bridich was able to convince Monfort to shell out a three-year, $27.5 deal to land outfielder Gerardo Parra last winter. Right now, that looks like a deal gone really bad, but it at least showed that Bridich has real pull.

Of course, all of the speculation about Melancon assumes that he would be successful in Colorado. Would he? I think so. He’s a control pitcher with a low-90s cut fastball that I think would work at altitude. He also throws a low-80s knuckle curve and the occasional low 90s four-seam fastballs. Related Articles November 23, 2016 Saunders: Carlos Gonzalez’s fate hangs over Rockies offseason

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In parts of eight big-league seasons, Melancon owns a 2.60 ERA with 8.2 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9. That’s really good, especially considering the first four seasons of his career were underwhelming.

He clearly ranks third behind Chapman and Jansen in the free-agent sweepstakes, but his recent numbers stack up well. Since the start of the 2013 season, Melancon has recorded far fewer strikeouts, but he also induces a lot more groundouts, and Melancon has the lowest BB/9 (1.45), home run rate (5.5 percent) and ERA (1.74) of the trio.

My conclusion: I think Melancon would be a terrific addition to a Rockies bullpen that needs a major, immediate upgrade. I think this team is ready to compete — if it makes a bold move or two (first base being the other black hole).

I think adding Melancon would be a clear signal to the Rockies star position players such as Nolan Arenado, DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon, that this team is serious about winning. It would send the same message to fans who continue to support the club despite all the losing.

But, I seriously doubt it will will happen.