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The Cardinals need a shortstop desperately. The poor play from guys like Pete Kozma during the World Series certainly did not help. Instead of heavily pursuing a free agent like Stephen Drew, the Cardinals are thinking big. Real big.
St. Louis is planning on pursuing Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at the GM meetings in Orlando this week according to a report from Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports.
Not only have the Cardinals shown significant interest in Tulowitzki, the Rockies' 29-year-old shortstop, they've inquired about the availability of a shortstop from the Texas Rangers, who have Elvis Andrus and Jurickson Profar, sources said.
St. Louis' preference is to fill its gaping hole at shortstop with Tulowitzki, considered the best at the position in the major leagues. While Rockies ownership has said publicly it has no intentions of trading Tulowitzki, privately it continues to weigh advantages of freeing itself from the final seven years and $134 million guaranteed remaining on his contract against the loss of a superstar and the public-relations hit of trading a beloved homegrown player.
It is unclear at the moment whether or not Tulowitzki, who has a no-trade clause, would accept a deal to the Cardinals or any other potential suitor. The general sense from the around the league is that the 29-year old shortstop would like to play for winner. Tulowitzki's close friend, former Rockie Matt Holliday, is a member of the Cardinals and could influence the shortstop's decision.
The Cardinals, who have a loaded farm system, have the pieces to make a deal. Names like Matt Adams, Shelby Miller, Kevin Siegrist and Trevor Rosenthal have been brought up in conversations.