The St. Louis Cardinals were one of the best teams in baseball last season and despite making it to the World Series and losing to the Boston Red Sox, the team is looking to upgrade in a number of areas and a trade for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is possible with the Colorado Rockies, as the club is motivated to upgrade at the position and they have the pitching depth and players to do it, including names like Lance Lynn, Trevor Rosenthal and Shelby Miller.
The Cardinals have plenty of young pitching with Michael Wacha and Joe Kelly starring in the World Series and they could afford to part ways with some arms for a better offensive shortstop, as the position was one of the biggest areas where the team struggled during the season. According to Hardball Talk, the Cardinals could be in position to make a deal for a shortstop and general manager John Mozeliak spoke on the radio and mentioned to Jim Bowden that he could deal a "starting pitcher" for a "controllable shortstop" that's young, so that could mean the team is looking at other players than Tulowitzki, but he would fit into that picture.
Tulowitzki has a long term contract and he would fit into that description and he also happens to be one of the most productive shortstops in the majors. Tulo's contract is for seven years and $134 million and that makes it tough to move, even though the Rockies have said they don't want to deal him, but that's another story. Ownership said that when the season ended, but if the Cardinals offer a lucrative enough package, they could change their minds. The 29-year-old has above average pop for a shortstop and he is coming off of a season hitting .312 with 25 home runs and over 80 RBIs despite being injured for a big chunk of the year. Elvis Andrus or Jurickson Profar are also players that fit into the mold of what the Cardinals are looking for and the primary reason is because of the offensive production from Pete Kozma during the year and in the postseason.
According to ESPN.com, Pete Kozma hit just one of 25 from the National League Championship Series into the World Series and was under .220 for the season and the position is one place where the Cardinals feel they need to upgrade. Any trade with the Rockies would need the approval of Tulowitzki, as he has a no-trade clause and while a deal would be hard to pull off, the Cardinals appear motivated and things could heat up closer to the winter meetings coming up in the offseason. The last time the Rockies made it to the playoffs was back in 2009 and the team has been going through a tough rebuilding process and that could be one reason why Tulo ends up getting dealt.
The Cardinals young pitching depth was on display during the playoffs, as they had Wacha and Kelly leading the rotation with Trevor Rosenthal and Carlos Martinez coming out of the bullpen and on top of that they have Kevin Siegrist and some of those names could end up in a deal depending on how negotiations go. The Cardinals were one of the best teams in the league offensively, ranking third in runs scored and fourth in batting average, but one of that came from the shortstop position and that is one reason why Mozeliak wants to upgrade at that spot up the middle.
