Hooray for Mets shortstop rumors that don’t involve Starlin Castro!
Back when those Castro/Mets rumors were at their most annoying prevalent, there was another big-time shortstop whose name came up quite frequently, connected to the Mets and other teams: Troy Tulowitzki. With the Rockies floating along in dire need of a rebuild, it seemed like it was finally time for them to aggressively shop guys like Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. There were some vague rumors to that effect early in the offseason, but then nothing.
Maybe now that we’re on the other side of the majority of free agent signings there will be a little more traction for a deal?
Jon Heyman writes this morning that the Mets and Rockies are still discussing Tulowitzki, and have been for a while, apparently. Pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard is reportedly the centerpiece of those talks, though you’d expect Tulowitzki – with a relatively-friendly six years and $118 million remaining on his deal – to cost much more, especially if the Rockies were going to include some cash (something they’re disinclined to do, according to previous Tulo rumors).
Heyman’s piece isn’t altogether optimistic that a deal ultimately gets done, but the fit between the Rockies and Mets is obvious. If something does come together, it’ll shift the landscape in the NL East dramatically – what a winnable division that looks to be in the coming years – and also fortifies the Mets for a very realistic Wild Card type season in 2015.
Ken Rosenthal hears, by the way, that the chances of a Mets/Rockies deal involving Tulowitzki is just 5 to 10 percent. Adam Rubin is hearing something similar, and also that the Rockies’ demands have been enormous (his source tells him Mets fans would “go batsh*t” if they heard it).
So, we’ll peg this is an interesting rumor that is extremely unlikely to go anywhere.