The Rockies are not prepared to deal star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at present (not least of which because he is on the DL), but the Mets have reached out to indicate that they would be interested if he is marketed, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. A National League executive tells Sherman that he thinks the Mets could match up well given their young pitching depth and Colorado’s need for the same. On the other hand, sources tell Sherman that the Cardinals think very highly of the star shortstop and would give up a substantial haul to add him. And of course, Sherman also notes, Tulowitzki would have a wider market given his top-tier abilities.
Here’s more from the National League:
- Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy has drawn recent trade interest, sources tell Marc Carig of Newsday. It still seems likely that Murphy will remain in New York, however, according to Carig.
- The Rockies could be willing to listen on current closer LaTroy Hawkins and starter Jorge De La Rosa, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. One team that has been connected to De La Rosa is the Orioles, though Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported earlier today that talks have not progressed given Colorado’s high asking price of top prospect Kevin Gausman. Harding says that the Rockies do have interest in other Baltimore minor leaguers, including lefty Tim Berry, rising prospect Hunter Harvey, and righties Mike Wright and Tyler Wilson.
- The Pirates’ interest in Phillies righty A.J. Burnett is “mild at best,” according to Heyman. And that is even before addressing the issue of Burnett’s 2015 player option, which seems likely to rise through escalators to $12.75MM. Neither the Orioles nor the Yankees appear to be interested in Burnett, Heyman adds.
- There are varying reports coming out of Washington, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter. Some clubs have indicated that the Nationals are looking for a second baseman and left-handed reliever. But the Nats themselves have said that they are merely fielding inquiries from teams offering second baggers and would only look to pick up a southpaw pen piece if they can upgrade the team’s current options. Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, likewise, tweets that an executive of one selling team sees the Nationals as pursuing multiple possibilities, with a particular focus on adding relief pitching.
- The Marlins are looking to add players that will contribute this year and in the future, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. The Fish are not currently shopping their veterans, Bowden adds. In an opinion piece, Rosenthal writes that the club should trade star Giancarlo Stanton sooner rather than later to maximize its return, opining that the team is unlikely to sign him to a long-term deal.
- The Dodgers have continued to look for additional set-up arms for the bullpen, tweets Bowden, but finding a match is complicated by the fact that three of the most obvious sellers also reside in the NL West. Meanwhile, the club has long been said to be interested in adding a starter. Given the recent struggles of Dan Haren, his spot in the rotation (rather than that of Josh Beckett) could be the one that is turned over, Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports.
Tony Matias
Jack Z should just sell the farm for Stanton. He’s going to lose his job anyways. This way, at least, he will have traded for someone worth it.
northsfbay
Stanton is not for trade. All major moves have to be approved by the owners.
canikickit
I dont believe for one second that the Mets will seriously go after Tulo, much less add his contract to payroll. They wont part with Chris Young because of his contract & they wont eat what’s left on Colon’s contract to trade him to a contender, but they want in on Tulo?
Dynasty22
The Mets won’t release Chris Young because they don’t want to admit they made a wrong decision signing him. That is why many other teams don’t release a guy playing bad who is also making a lot of money.
Example: Dan Uggla
Naturally, you don’t want to eat salary in a deal. I’m sure if the right trade proposal came, the Mets would eat some of Colon’s salary.
The Mets can afford Tulo. He is a top flight player and they have the payroll for it.
rct 2
I don’t believe it, either, but for different reasons. I don’t think Sandy would offer enough to get him, especially if another team like the Cardinals is in the mix.
As a fan, it would be great to have Tulo, as he’s a terrific player and his salary is pretty reasonable. His splits, however, are pretty stark. Just going by relative OPS+, his career home number is 116 (away is 84). I’m sure the Mets’ FO would take a long look at that before offering anything, and hopefully they’re not dazzled by Tulo’s small sample of 48 ABs at CitiField, where he’s slashed .438/.534/.833.
canikickit
Considering the fact that the Mets now have the 4th best farm system in MLB, it’s not offering up enough pieces that’s the problem. The real problem is Tulo’s inability to stay healthy.
Gland1
Well it’s not that they don’t have the pieces, it’s whether they would want to part with them. Sandy clearly has been working on developing depth, so the question is how much of that would he be willing to use.
canikickit
Personally, I wouldn’t part with pieces for a guy who cant stay on the field. Mets are knee deep in pitching depth as it is. Instead of calling Colorado, Sandy should be calling up Theo about Baez (who the Mets have been linked to) & Soler, who just got a promotion to AAA. Mets & Cubs match up in terms of need, and the Cubs have a few ML ready guys by next year (Bryant, Russell) in their system, with Alcantara already up. Schwarber should be ready by 2016, so that leaves their need for RF. If Stanton becomes available, Cubs make the most sense in the right return & locking Stanton up.
Gland1
I agree with you, trading for Tulo is risky. As enticing as it would be to get the Coors version of him, between what you’d have to give up, and then what you’d have to pay him, I’d be afraid he’d never be able to stay healthy. If he can’t stay on the field now, what’s going to happen when he gets older?
Dale Pearl
I am guessing the players are going to start complaining soon because with the new wild card structure it would appear fewer teams are going to be trading players in July.
FamousMortimer
Agreed. I sort of hope the new commissioner gets rid of the second wild card and the ridiculous All-Star Game stipulation.
Dale Pearl
I am not sure what the solution is to put everyone on “even” playing ground. I for one like the NFL method more than what the MLB has put together. The Yankees and Dodgers though are not motivated by salary caps. I think there should be a maximum ceiling that once you hit in salary that you start losing draft picks completely and also international signings. Not just a penalty but a complete lock out of the draft until the salary goes back beneath the cap.
FamousMortimer
Coming from the UK, where we’re perfectly happy for our national sport to not have a level playing field, I admire US sport’s desire for it while not understanding it all that much.
But I like your idea.
MB923
“I think there should be a maximum ceiling that once you hit in salary
that you start losing draft picks completely and also international
signings”
As far as International Signings go, there is currently a spending limit for it. If you go over the limit (I don’t know what the # is), you are limited to signing an IFA for $300,000 max not just for next year, but the year after as well.
mrnatewalter
A “maximum ceiling that once you hit in salary…” You mean a salary cap?
That’s why they have luxury tax. Trust me, it hurts the Dodgers and the Yankees, despite what everyone is led to believe.
But this myth that a salary cap (no matter how you word it, you said a salary cap) creates a “level playing field” is absurd. 4 of this year’s bottom 6 teams in payroll made the playoffs last year, and one of them is far and away the best team in baseball. Baseball does great with controlling the market by banning free agency until after 6 years, which allows small market teams to pay what they can afford (although I’d argue that Houston has just as much money as many teams up top of the list) and that they put luxury tax penalties on teams that exceed a certain point in salary as well as take away IFA money.
But this myth is absurd. Baseball doesn’t need a salary cap.
Out of place Met fan
More likely solution is to move the deadline back to Aug 15, when the playoff picture is a bit clearer
Ron Loreski
Adding the second wild card is one of the best changes they could have made to baseball! It creates the game 7 atmosphere with just one game. I was at the Cincinnati vs Pittsburgh Wild Card Game last year and let me tell you, it was the best baseball environment I’ve ever been a part of.
TheRealRyan 2
Why would the players care? I would imagine the idea that I have to pick up and move somewhere all of sudden, in the middle of a season with zero control of where I am going to be a negative. I guess a few players move to a better team situation, but that usually means more players are moving to a worse team though.
FamousMortimer
I’d be really, really surprised if the Cardinals traded for Tulo, given he’s on the DL, and they’ve got a perfectly decent SS in Peralta. Okay, Tulo would be an upgrade, but the Cardinals have much more pressing concerns. Unless they’re trading Peralta to get a good arm?
Dale Pearl
A team cannot trade a player on the DL. It is in the CBA I believe
Sky14
It is not, injured players can be traded.
Rally Weimaraner
You can’t do it on PlayStation so you cant do it in the MLB!
jaybuck
Not to mention the fact that Tulo away from Coors…..not so hot. He isn’t worth the price the Rockies would want for the Cardinals to acquire him. Also name me a season he hasn’t spent significant time on the DL.
Sky14
This is Tulo’s slash line over the past three years away from Coors .289/.359/.514/.873. It is more myth than fact that Tulo is a product of Coors.
jaybuck
what I am saying is are the Rockies willing to accept a return in a trade that would yield something more indicative of that slash line or is it his entirevproduction including coors field? I assume they’d be marketing him as a 300 + hitter with 20 to 25 home run potential and the ability to drive in nearly a hundred runs a year. Which to that I say is a stretch.
Sky14
That’s completely fair. His numbers this season are higher than previous years as well and if i’m the cards I wouldn’t want to buy high either. He can still hit for solid average and good pop for an SS with solid defense. Just had to set the record straight that he is not bad away it’s just relative to his home numbers that it seems that way.
douglasb
nobody is saying he isn’t a very good player. but he certainly feasts on playing in the best hitting park in baseball. An .873 OPS over the last 3 seasons would be 16th best in baseball. Very good, particularly for a good fielding shortstop. But when you put him in Coors he’s Mike Trout level stuff.
Sky14
He’s above Trout at home. That’s completely unsustainable and would not argue he would hit that anywhere else, that’s ridiculous. Just wanted to point out while he’s not as good away from Coors, he’s not as bad as implied by the original post.
rct 2
I don’t know why you’re only using his last three years here, especially since in one of them, he only played 47 games and this season is only 2/3 complete.
His career splits:
Home -.323/.397/.565/.962
Away – .274/.349/.469/.818
Still good numbers away, but it’s a decent enough contrast to make some teams pause. You have to think about whether you’d be a better overall team. For the Cards, it’d mean his upgrade over Peralta vs. whatever you’d have to give up. imo, it wouldn’t make much sense for St Louis unless Peralta was in the deal.
fwiw, Tulo has been worth 1.7 fWAR and 1.6 rWAR more than Peralta this season.
Sky14
Because it is more relevant. You wouldn’t use data that isn’t representative of the current player, like Jose Bautista’s time with the Pirates as an indicator of current production. Recent history shows he is one of the top hitters in the league regardless of where he is playing. His career numbers will be deflated because early in his career he did have a slight issue outside of Coors ( though obviously good numbers relative to other players). Over the past few years the number clearly indicate a change.
As for whether it is worth it for the Cards to acquire him that’s a different argument than Tulo struggles in the road. The original poster declared his struggles on the road a fact, despite a complete lack of evidence.
rct 2
But it’s not more relevant. He’s not like Bautista at all. He’s been great for at least the last 6 years. You chose a season where he played 47 games, a full season, and this season (91 games). It’s cherry-picking.
And Tulo’s relative struggles on the road are a reality. His home slash line for this season is .417/.497/.748. His away slash line is .257/.364/.447. That is a huge difference.
Sky14
Ha, the Bautista thing was just an example of using data that is no longer representative of the player. Not to be taken as a literal comparison. He clearly has improved since his first few seasons so why include that data? Midaswell use his tball numbers as a point of concern. That’s a joke btw. I was highlighting a recent trend which is more useful than the overall because of changes to the data points. The 47 games bit is irrelevant because my sample included over 600 at-bats, didn’t make sense to remove it.
douglasb
then why not use the most current data? like… 2014:
home = .417/.497/748
away = .257/.364/.447
Sky14
Half of a half season of data…. Take a guess why I didn’t.
douglasb
because it doesn’t support your argument so you decided to cherry pick results only back as far as they would support your argument.
SAINTLOUISINNYC
Cardinals wouldn’t have that many concerns of Matheny was using them correctly … If they could get tulo for maybe miller Wong Craig next year free draft pick they should do it. That’s a generous offer for a injury prone guy but cardinals need a bat in that lineup that’s consistent
Phishfan52
The Orioles are not trading for a starter so anytime I see their name mentioned for a starter I know not to put any trust into that reporting. They are looking for a catcher and a bullpen arm.
mstrchef13
There is no chance that the O’s will trade Gausman for De La Rosa.
Bleed_Orange
I don’t want to trade anyone for De La Rosa… he’s just as good as what we have already. Why give up prospects for what we can produce in house?
UVAguy81
Duquette would be insane to trade any of those pitchers for De La Rosa. I don’t see him as an upgrade to anyone the O’s already have on their staff.
TheHernandezInput
Ok… opinions…
Trade (sorry to say this but…) BJ Upton for Colorado Rockies
Carlos Gonzales. CarGo is owed $6+mil over BJ for the rest of his contract
until 2017, but he has the bat and the glove to fit perfectly as a Brave.
Shoot, throw-in a minor leaguer! Braves will still have a solid outfield and a better lineup.
I know I am going to get killed here!! LOL
Ron Loreski
I know they legalized pot in Colorado, but I don’t think the Rockies are “mile high” enough to make that deal.
DarthMurph
There aren’t any opinions here. You make a ridiculous proposal that you don’t defend at all so why bother?
vtadave
Looks good. Don’t kill ME here, but the Dodgers should deal Andre Ethier for Mike Trout. Trout would upgrade CF and fit pretty well in the llineup. The Angels save money and get a guy who hits left-handed.
mrshyguy99
Angels would want Pederson and or seager and dodgers wouldn’t do it. However maybe trout the player that makes them trade top prospects
Gland1
The Dodgers wouldn’t give up Pederson and/or Seager for Trout?
Frittoman626
Angels wouldn’t trade him for Pederson, Seager, and Urias. Trout is a Mantle/Mays type player who is still very young and hasn’t reached his prime yet. Only way the Dodgers get Trout would be for Kershaw. Also you’re crazy if you don’t think the Dodgers wouldn’t do that deal, Trout is a once in a generation type player, like Kershaw. Dodgers wouldn’t even let the Angels finish their sentence and accept the deal.
Rally Weimaraner
Wren couldn’t even propose that without laughing.
Bleed_Orange
With the Astros leaks apparently they do propose trades like that all the time (through I’m sure they know there isn’t a snowballs chance in hell that it will happen)
mrnatewalter
Under what condition were you that you to believe this was even a remotely smart trade idea? Did you mean Justin Upton?
Rabbitov
De la Rosa for Gausman or Harvey? Pass
mrnatewalter
Hang up the phone and walk away.
Quipex
Maybe for Matusz, but nothing more.
SinHalo27
Murphy will not be dealt. That would set the franchise back another year or two on top of the 4 or 5 years not signing Reyes set them back, and relax… there will not be a blockbuster game-changing deal that will make dealing Murphy worth it.
canikickit
Herrera?
SinHalo27
Looks darn good in a mere 31 AA games. Seems he has run into some increased pop as well. Wouldn’t be surprised if he starts 2015 in AA & if he continues to rake then a bump to Vegas & possible cup of coffee late 2015. Just started playing him a bit at SS last year but not so much this year. I’m guessing the reports about his arm not being strong enough for SS are true- no sweat though.
canikickit
No way Herrera starts in AA in 2015 if he keeps this up for another month. Most likely, he’ll end the year either in Vegas, or promoted as a September callup just to get a small taste of the big leagues before starting in Vegas next season. Add Flores to the mix (if Collins ever lets him get playing time) and it doesn’t look good for Murph.
SAINTLOUISINNYC
Mets better worry about getting some pitching prospects help coz tulo/gonzo won’t save them
canikickit
They’re knee deep in pitching prospects. What are you talking about?
SAINTLOUISINNYC
Plz they not even .500 team… They need to keep em
canikickit
That’s Collins doing of why they’re not at .500. Please try again.
orangeoctober
Mets have a pretty stacked farm system as far as pitchers go, really. One of the top farm systems in the bigs right now.
mrshyguy99
Just a idea bring up Chris reed former bullpen stand out in college for the bullpen for the season to give him work in the majors. He a decent starter but dodgers need bullpen help and he could be a nice option
orangeoctober
lol there’s no way in hell the Rockies get Kevin Gausman or Hunter Harvey for Jorge De La Rosa. Like lets be realistic here.
canikickit
To update this post, apparently the Rockies are very interested in Syndergaard, Matz, Nimmo and Herrera.
calamityfrancis
even for tulo, the mets wouldn’t give up that much.
canikickit
Not for someone as injury prone as Tulo at least.
canikickit
Not for someone as injury prone as Tulo at least.