Tulo Traded-What's Next for COL and TOR?

Larry Rooney

The Toronto Blue Jays, home of the best offense in the league, have traded for Colorado's SS Troy Tulowitzki and P Latroy Hawkins. It is reported that the trade sends TOR SS Jose Reyes back to the National League, along with several minor leaguers including P Miguel Castro.

This is by far one of the strangest trade deadline moves that this writer has ever encountered. The Toronto Blue Jays already hold the league's best offense but desperately need good, young pitching. Like the Jays, the Rockies are also looking for good pitching but by way of prospects. The Blue Jays mortgaged their pitching future for offensive success now. If there is one thing baseball fans learned last season by way of Kansas City's bullpen and San Francisco's P Madison Bumgarner, it's that pitching wins games in the playoffs.

Will this move help Toronto secure first place in the tight AL East? Yes, it is more than likely that Toronto will now have the firepower to push through and claim first in their division. If they don't, however, and they wind up taking a Wild Card spot, I suspect an early playoff dismissal for this Toronto team.

While Latroy Hawkins is a decent bullpen arm, he is no better than what they currently have north of the border. The 42-year old has announced that this will be his last season. So ultimately, Hawkins is a rental who provides some playoff experience. Hawkins holds a 3.45 ERA over 15.2 innings pitched in the playoffs. Hawkins will likely replace Aaron Loup in the bullpen or maybe Brett Cecil.
I'm not really sure if there is a clear winner or loser from this deal. Both teams are kind of just left hanging in the wind. The Rockies needed to address their lack of good, young, and controllable pitchers by way of prospects, which they did to some extent. The Blue Jays biggest need being starting pitching was not addressed, but the team bolstered their offense and added a decent bullpen arm. As a result, you can't call either team a clear loser or a clear winner. This can only mean one
thing, subsequent deals are going to be made.

The Blue Jays are in dire need of starting pitching; the team needs a definitive ace, as well as second tier guys. I anticipate the Jays will make a move to acquire some pitching depth with either the Texas Rangers, the New York Mets, or the Milwaukee Brewers.

Texas and Milwaukee are definitive sellers at this year's trade deadline, while the Mets seem to be, so far, buyers.

The Brewers are last in their division at 21.5 games out, and the Rangers are 3rd in their division sitting at 8.0 games back. The feeling around the league about the Rangers is that they do not have the assets to overcome both the Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Angels, nor do they have the intention of acquiring these assets. Around Mets camp, rumors are swirling, opinions are being thrown around that they feel they're 1-2 more bats away from being favorites for their division.
I think a deal for a starting pitcher is more likely to be reached with Texas, as they have the cheapest arms available of the three teams mentioned. The Rangers could look to move SP Yovanni Gallardo, who has posted a 7-9 record while holding a 3.19 ERA. Gallardo is on the lower end of the "Ace" spectrum, but a definitive ace nonetheless.

While the Mets have a ton of pitching depth, the team just passed on the recently acquired Blue Jay SS Troy Tulowitzki rather than trade their pitching assets. The Mets, however, could be persuaded to make a move should a name like Bautista, Encarnacion, or Donaldson become available. The Jays, however, are probably not looking to move these big pieces of their offense. I think it is more likely the Mets make a deal with the Rockies.

While Gallardo may be more enticing than some of the names on Milwaukee, the Brew Crew will have the steepest asking price while they desperately try to acquire young talent to prepare for the ensuing rebuilding process. Because of this, a deal is more likely to be reached with the Texas Rangers.

The Rockies, however, have a host of teams they can trade with. I think it is likely the team will deal LF Carlos Gonzalez, SS Jose Reyes, and maybe a few other minor names. Colorado needs young starting pitching, not necessarily at a level lower than the Majors. The Rockies roster is talented offensively, they just severely lack any pitching talent. Youngsters 3B Nolan Arenado and OF Charlie Blackmon secure a very talented lineup.

Should the team look to move both SS Jose Reyes and LF Carlos Gonzalez, the first team contacted should be the New York Mets. The Mets desperately need shortstop help and bringing back Jose would make fans very happy. The team, also, desperately needs a quality LF. While Michael Conforto, one of the team's top prospects, has performed well, the Mets should look to find a replacement to allow Conforto to go back down and develop.

A deal involving one or both of these two players would give the Mets a solid 1 and/or 4 hole hitters. The Rockies could expect pitchers Jon Niese, Bartolo Colon, Dillon Gee, Zach Wheeler, and Rafael Montero to be made available. In addition to a combination of these pitchers, the Rockies could request a couple of other players like C Kevin Plawecki, SS Gavin Cecchini, 2B/SS Ruben Tejada, 2B/SS Wilmer Flores, or even LF Michael Cuddyer. The Mets are likely going to hold onto pitchers: Matt Harvey, Jacob Degrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz.

While I think the Mets are the most likely target for these two players, teams like the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, or the Pittsburgh Pirates could potentially be in on a deal for at least one of these guys. It will be interesting to watch how the rest of the week leading up to the trade deadline turns out.

The no-waiver trade deadline is 4 PM ET on July 31st.