The Colorado Rockies have trade bait in Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez this season and at the deadline, teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, NY Yankees, LA Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles all could be interested in making moves and Tulo could be on his way out of town after making comments to the media about the possibility of getting traded.
Over the past couple years Tulowitzki has been mentioned in connection with the Cardinals, Mets and Yankees in trade rumors, but none of those ended up being serious. This past offseason the Cardinals came up once again in connection with Tulowitzki, as they wanted an upgrade over Pete Kozma, but the team ended up signing Jhonny Peralta instead. According to the Denver Post and writer Mark Kiszla, both Tulowitzki and Gonzalez know that they have been mentioned in trade talks and the players both spoke about that and both appeared okay with a potential change of scenery.
The Rockies started off the season well, but have since slipped into the bottom part of the NL west and both players spoke about the ability to win and the desire to play for championships. Tulowitzki may be the top player at his position in the NL, while Gonzalez has potential to be one of the best outfielders in baseball, but they are stuck doing it in Colorado. The team could look at moving both players to clear payroll as they try to rebuild, as the combined number for the two is near $30 million this season and moving that at the deadline could really open things up down the line.
Tulowitzki and Gonzalez spoke about the possibility of getting traded, with Tulowitzki speaking to the media about Todd Helton, saying that while he respected him as a player and all he did for the Rockies, he is hoping not become the next player in Colorado to play just a couple postseason games in his career. Tulowitzki spoke about Helton playing nearly two decades for the Rockies and making it just to one World Series and the postseason a couple times, never winning a division title.
All the talk of winning begs the question about the Yankees and a recent Kiszla column looked at the idea of Tulowitzki playing in Pinstripes in the future. The Yankees would love to somehow nab Tulowitzki even it means being on the hook for a ton of money, as the team needs a replacement for Derek Jeter, who is retiring this season after a Hall of Fame career. Tulowitzki is now 29 and he writes that he deserves better than missing the playoffs each season and he also cites the team nearly trading Tulowitzki to the Cardinals, which would have brought him to a baseball Mecca.
Tulowitzki is the NL shortstop in the All-Star game and he is killing the ball this season with a 3.50 average and nearly 20 home runs. Tulowitzki has the chance to be a great player and all-timer in Colorado, but the team may move him to get some future prospects as they try and build things back out west. The team is now 13 games back in the division and fading and if they slip farther away, the team could start selling at the deadline.
