No, the Troy Tulowitzki trade rumors are not going to end until the clock strikes 4:00 p.m. ET on July 31. That leaves the entire month of July for further speculation, and the New York Mets continue to be linked to the All-Star shortstop.
Rumors involving Tulowitzki have quieted down after he said he was not going to request a trade from the Rockies. Additionally, at the MLB owners meetings back in May, Rockies' owner Dick Monfort told FOX Sports' Jon Morosi that the team is "not trying to trade him." We touched on this last month.
However, it might not be long before Monfort realizes the team is not built to win. They're currently 34-43, which is good for last in the NL West by nine games and better than only the Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League. Sure, they have a chance to recover, but it's unlikely to happen especially since their pitching staff is the worst in the MLB.
"The Rockies need to face the fact that they haven't had a winning season since 2010 and are in last place even with Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez," ESPN Insider Jim Bowden writes. "It's time to let them go, and they should get a strong return of prospects for both, not to mention they'd free up money to reallocate to the future."
For Tulowitzki, he says "a trade to either New York team makes a lot of sense if GM Jeff Bridich can convince ownership it's time to rebuild after years of losing."
Although the news of Tulowitzki potentially going to the Mets is old, there are still ongoing conversations regarding the possibility. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe mentioned in his Sunday Baseball Notes that the Mets "continue to be the best match for Tulowitzki, according to the baseball executives who have offered an opinion."
The Mets have the resources to land Tulo, but they may not want to surrender some of their top pitching prospects, which is likely what Colorado wants. Additionally, Mets' owner Fred Wilpon has the club on a strict budget and Tulowitzki is owed over $110 million through the 2020 season.
Cafardo says the Mets have left-hander Steven Matz, who dazzled in his MLB debut, to "start with" in a deal for the Rockies' shortstop, but given the demotion of Dillon Gee and the trade rumors surrounding Jon Niese, it's doubtful general manager Sandy Alderson would move the 24-year-old.
Then again, the Mets just shifted shortstop Wilmer Flores over to second base and Alderson said he'd be willing to "overpay" for a bat before the trade deadline. Tulowitzki is batting .320/.355/.483/.838 with 40 runs scored, 8 home runs and 41 RBIs in 70 games, which would be a big help for the anemic Mets' offense (they've scored 25 runs in their past 13 games).
Additionally, the Rockies just promoted shortstop prospect Trevor Story to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to Nick Groke of the Denver Post. The 22-year-old was batting .281/.373/.523/.897 with 46 runs scored, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 69 games before getting bumped up.
By no means does this indicate a Tulowitzki trade is imminent, but it does imply the Rockies potentially have the internal solutions to fill such a void in late July.
Nonetheless, both of these clubs can help each other out. The Rockies need to rebuild and improve their pitching right now, while the Mets need to take advantage of their current situation in the NL East. At 40-38 they sit 3.5 games behind the Washington Nationals and the rest of the teams in the division have a losing record. The Nats have yet to pull away from the pack, which gives the Mets an excellent chance to make a splash before the trade deadline and put more pressure on their division rivals.
All signs point to this trade making sense for both sides and we have 30 days to find out if it will.
