Colorado Rockies Rumors: Troy Tulowitzki ‘gave his blessing’ for team to trade him

The mid-season trade in Major League Baseball has largely fallen out of fashion. Teams have more flexibility in the winter when it comes to making a deal. Furthermore, big-name players are rarely available anymore in this era of teams locking up players to long-term deals well before they ever get anywhere near free agency.

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As far as splashy trades that we can dream about this season, no name would be bigger than Colorado Rockies’ shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Finally able to stay healthy in 2014, Tulowitzki has been the best player in all of baseball. Through 86 games he is batting .350/.441/.616 with 20 home runs, 70 runs scored, and a 177 OPS+. Combine those offensive numbers with elite defense at a premium position at shortstop and you have a player who has already been good for 5.7 WAR.

Things are so dire in Colorado that trade speculation has started in earnest: should the Rockies trade Tulowitzki now to stockpile prospects and kick-start the rebuilding process? A trade involving the man known as ‘Tulo’ would be unlike any other for a couple reasons. For one thing, trading a player who is so dominant is rare . Secondly, he is under team control through 2020.

In that context, Jon Heyman of CBS reports that Tulowitzki ‘gave his blessing’ to the Rockies’ front office to trade him to a contender if they found the right offer:

"Rockies superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, frustrated by the team’s continuing struggles, recently met with team brass and gave a subtle blessing to a trade for him, but only if the higher-ups felt it was best for all parties involved.Tulowitzki’s message was said to be something along these lines: “I love it in Colorado. I’d like to be here. But if things (don’t improve), and you can (trade) me to a winning situation I’m OK with it.”"

Rockies’ ownership and front office have remained steadfast in their desire to keep Tulowitzki, so a deal seems unlikely. That is especially the case given the current state of mid-season trades. But if you want to talk about a deal that would change the entire landscape of the 2014 season, you could start with anything involving Tulowitzki. And with his “subtle blessing,” it at least cracks the door open on that possibility.