Multiple reports indicate that the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals have engaged in informal trade talks involving Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, and that the discussion of a possible swap may continue at the upcoming GM meetings.
Yahoo! Sports reported that talks of a potential deal between the two sides have begun and are likely to continue, as the Cardinals are looking to replace Pete Kozma at shortstop while the Rockies are looking to rebuild after their current stars haven't helped the team rise above mediocrity.
CBS Sports reports that the deal could involve some young arms from the Cardinals as St. Louis boasts a lot of talented young pitchers that the Rockies are in the hunt for.
Kozma hit just .217 through 143 games this season with one homer and 35 RBIs for St. Louis, so the team is looking for an upgrade at the shortstop position.
The Rockies recently said that Tulowitzki wasn't going to be moved and that the team was planning to build around him, but according to Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan, Colorado may re-think a Tulo deal to dump his salary off the books.
"While Rockies ownership has said publicly it has no intentions of trading Tulowitzki, privately it continues to weigh advantages of freeing itself from the final seven years and $134 million guaranteed remaining on his contract against the loss of a superstar and the public-relations hit of trading a beloved homegrown player," Passan wrote on Yahoo Sports.
Tulowitzki, 29, has a no-trade clause, but he could be willing to waive it in order to play with the National League champion Cardinals, a team that came within two victories of the World Series in 2013 while the Rockies missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season while putting up a 77-84 record. Tulowitzki's former teammate Matt Holliday could also persuade the sure-handed and two-time Silver Slugger award winner to waive his clause.
While Tulowitzki is solid all around, he is a health risk as he's missed over 250 games over his eight-year MLB career due to various injuries.
This past season, Tulowitzki played in 126 games and hit .312 with 25 homers and 82 RBIs.
Whether or not he is moved remains to be seen, but there is at least minimal interest on both sides as talks may begin to truly heat up heading into the winter.
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