Troy Tulowitzki May or May Not Be Traded This Winter Sources Say

Troy Tulowitzki, when healthy, is arguably the best offensive shortstop in baseball. That much we can probably agree on. Another fact: the Rockies owe the 29-year-old Tulowitzki at least $114 million through 2020. Colorado went 66-96 in 2014 — the second worst record in the majors. On Monday the Mets signed veteran Michael Cuddyer away from the Rockies.

These are all facts.

What followed was the baseball Hot Stove 24-second news machine kicking into gear that the Mets are (possibly) interested in adding Tulowitzki, too. It began with a tweet from the Yahoo!’s excellent, reliable baseball reporter Jeff Passan.

Mets aren't done. They've talked with the Rockies about Troy Tulowitzki, sources tell Y! Sports. Fear they can't afford, but talking still.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 10, 2014

Note the wording of Passan’s tweet. The Rockies and Mets “talked.” Talking in this instance can mean all sorts of things and I have no reason not to believe Passan here. Why wouldn’t the Mets — on the verge of climbing up the standings in the NL East — inquire, even in earnest, about Tulowitzki? If nothing else “talking” with the Rockies about Tulowitzki excites the team’s continually despondent fan base. As with any nugget, the initial Passan tweet morphed and took on a lifecycle of its own, fueled by the immediacy of social media.

The life of this particular Tulowitzki/Mets rumor didn’t last long.

#Rockies Bridich dismisses Tulowitzki-to-#Mets trade rumors, talks offseason strategy http://t.co/QCyIcJer7g
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) November 11, 2014

So if you’re scoring at home, in about 5-6 hours Tulowitzki was (maybe) bound for Citi Field to staying at Coors Field. My best (non-sourced) guess, Tulowitzki rumors continue to churn throughout the winter — remember when Tulowitzki showed up at Yankee Stadium during the summer!!! In contrast, if memory serves the biggest shocker of last year’s Hot Stove season came when the Tigers traded Prince Fielder to the Rangers for Ian Kinsler — a deal that materialized out of nowhere without weeks of Twitter chatter.

However this shakes out trading Tulowitzki is a fascinating potential move, as suitors balance his lifetime .891 OPS with the fact he’s only averaged 106 games played over the last five seasons. Throw in the financial factor and it’s a major high-risk, high-reward gamble for a club to make.