The Colorado Rockies had a tough season in 2013 after competing for the early part of the year and heading into the winter the team could be shaping up to make some moves, as they are open to a trade with outfielder Dexter Fowler over shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and they have been linked to deals with both the Los Angeles Angels and the Kansas City Royals.
Hardball Talk is reporting that the Rockies are "open" to moving Fowler in an effort to upgrade their pitching and this comes after the team was rumored to be in talks with the St. Louis Cardinals regarding a deal for Troy Tulowitzki. Now that the Cards have signed Jhonny Peralta, that likely is off the table and now the team is looking towards moving Fowler. The website also reports that the team is interested in signing free agent first baseman Justin Morneau and he could be a very solid addition to that lineup with Tulo and Carlos Gonzalez.
Fowler has above average speed and is a solid base stealer and Hardball Talk reports that the team could be in talks with the Angels for Mark Trumbo, who has been shopped by Los Angeles to a number of teams this offseason, including the Red Sox. If the Rockies traded Fowler they could move Gonzalez over to center field and with Fowler getting closer to being a free agent, the team may want to try and get something for him while his value is decent. According to the Denver Post, the Rockies were interested in upgraded at catcher and targeted both Brian McCann and Carlos Ruiz as free agents, but the former Braves star is now with the New York Yankees on an $85 million deal, while Ruiz is staying with the Phillies.
The deal with the Royals would involve bullpen arms moving and the Rockies are open to trading Fowler now, but if the deal isn't good enough, they will keep him, as he has played above average defense in a tough park at Coors Field. The report from the post writes that Aaron Crow and Tim Collins are the likely names that could move in a deal from the bullpen, while Wade Davis is also in play while putting up a sub-1.00 ERA in appearances last season. Fowler was solid for the Rockies last season while hitting eight home runs in the first month of the season and he is set to make $7.35 million this year, while Davis would be under team control for more years at a lower salary.
The Post reports that the Rockies like Morneau as an option at first base after he was traded to the Pirates from the Twins and is now a free agent, while Mark Trumbo could be an interesting option at the position as well. Last season Trumbo played over 120 games to first base with Albert Pujols missing tons of time and that could be a way for the Rockies to upgrade at the position with Todd Helton retiring. Mike Napoli is also on the market, but he may be out of the price range for the team. The Rockies have already started working on getting their bullpen back to strength when they signed LaTroy Hawkins and now this could be the next move.
