Troy Tulowitzki Won’t Be Traded, My Columns

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Troy Tulowitzki will not be traded to the New York Mets

This is the rumor that persists, mostly because the Mets have a stacked farm system and because they desperately need a shortstop.

Why the Rockies shouldn’t want it

The value isn’t there. Furthermore, we might be overlooking the volatility of young pitching in our collective assumption that the Mets are a great match for a trade because they possess a wealth of young arms.

Hasn’t the trend changed a little bit in trades? Teams either target big league-ready talent or they target a top position playing prospect. Maybe the Rockies would look brilliant if they landed a bunch of young pitching for Tulowitzki, but it feels more likely that they would end up getting burned.

How many young pitchers require Tommy John surgery? Like, all of them? How many so-called “can’t miss” pitching prospects flame out? Plenty of them.

There is risk no matter what if the Rockies trade Tulo, but it’s not hard to envision a scenario where the Rockies trade Tulo to the Mets for a package centered around two stud pitching prospects, then neither pitcher pans out, leaving the team in a situation where they traded the best shortstop in baseball and have nothing to show for it two years down the road.

Why it won’t happen

The Mets are reportedly scoffing at the Rockies’ asking price, both in terms of the prospects they would give up and the fact that the Rockies won’t cover any of Tulo’s salary.

What this shows The Mets are at the top of the list of teams that are “kicking the tires” and “checking in” with the Rockies on Tulo. Writers want this to make sense so badly, but the talks never advance. If it’s not happening with the Mets, it probably isn’t happening with anybody.