The Colorado Rockies shocked the MLB when they traded Troy Tulowtizki to the Toronto Blue Jays before the non-waiver deadline. Colorado received shortstop Jose Reyes in the deal, but it's appearing more and more likely he's gone before 2016.
The veteran expressed his discontent after being dealt to the Rockies and he may soon get his wish to be elsewhere. The latest rumors suggest the team may look to move Reyes after the season and fill his vacancy with one of their top prospects.
"Reyes doesn't have Tulo's arm or range at shortstop or Tulo's power at the plate. But Reyes is a slick fielder, and he's hit a solid .272 with three homers in 31 games since joining the Rockies," Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes.
"With prospect Trevor Story on deck to take over shortstop at some point next season, I believe the Rockies will try to move Reyes this offseason, with the knowledge they will have to eat a substantial portion of his contract. The better Reyes plays, the more trade partners there will be and the less money the Rockies will lose in the transaction."
Story already appears to be ready for the MLB. The 22-year-old is batting .281/.350/.517 with 83 runs scored, 20 home runs and 80 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 129 games between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Albuquerque this year. There's no doubt he'll be competing for a spot on the roster during spring training, and since the Rockies will likely look to shed salary and spend money elsewhere, Reyes appears to be a trade casualty once the offseason hits.
Carlos Gonzalez also remains a name to watch in trade rumors. The 29-year-old has been absolutely tearing the cover off the ball since June after getting off to a slow start in 2015. He's also having one of the healthiest seasons of his career.
Gonzalez's name was floated around in trade rumors before the non-waiver deadline, but due to his surge in July it was suspected he was going to command a big return. A trade for him seemed a bit prohibitive because he's also owed a total of $37 million in 2016 and 2017.
However, after a healthy season during which he is currently batting .274/.331/.563 with 76 runs scored, 36 home runs and 86 RBIs in 128 games, the former batting champion is experiencing an unprecedented revival.
"There was a little uptake on calls," Rockies' GM Jeff Bridich told Saunders. "But there were really two parts. First, we were gauging our own interest in trading CarGo. It wasn't like we were doing a full-court press internally to make the trade. We treated him like everyone else on the team. We would think about it and have a discussion when it was warranted. It wasn't like it was some huge orchestrated effort on our part. And, with the pedigree of CarGo, it can be tough to find dance partners in a trade."
The non-waiver trade deadline provided a complicated time restraint on a potential deal for Gonzalez. The circumstances did not line up to create a favorable trade situation, but the offseason might.
"Now that Gonzalez has proved he's healthy and productive again, possible partners might start lining up during the offseason," Saunders added.
Depending on the Rockies' plan, their two highest-paid players could be gone before the 2016 season. Bridich already showed he's committed to rebuilding after stockpiling the organization's farm system with a number of top prospects in the Tulowitzki deal.
If they can manage to part ways with both Reyes and Gonzalez, the team has the opportunity to shed nearly $40 million for 2016, which would drastically decrease the money committed to next year's payroll (the current $64.8 million could drop below $30 million).
Due to the dearth of productive shortstops and outfield power bats, this scenario is not at all unlikely.
