St. Louis Cardinals MLB Trade and Roster Rumors: Cardinals Interested in Acquiring Álex Colomé
The St. Louis Cardinals seemed to have singled out the Tampa Bay Rays' Álex Colomé as a potential trade target as they continue to search for a new closer.
MLB Network's Jon Morosi was the first to report that the Cardinals have discussed a possible Colomé trade with the Rays.
Colomé has spent his entire career in Tampa Bay, but Morosi has noted that the Rays were willing to listen to offers for virtually any player on their roster. He is an interesting target as the Cardinals look to fill the vacancy in their bullpen after they released veteran right-hander Trevor Rosenthal earlier this month following Tommy John surgery.
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The right-handed pitcher is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so he's in line to earn a significant raise. However, he is under team control through the 2020 season, so the Cardinals will have to put together an enticing package if they want to convince the Rays to part ways with him.
"The fact that he's so inexpensive yet effective means the Rays will be able to command a major return if they decide to deal him. While Tampa may be heading into another mini-rebuilding phase, there's little incentive for the front office to trade him if the return package doesn't meet their needs," Patrick Karraker said in his report for MLB Daily Dish.
"If the Cardinals are serious about their pursuit of Colome, though, they've got a wealth of prospects and a surplus of major-league ready outfielders from which to trade," he added.
In 65 games last season, Colomé went 2-3 with a 3.24 earned run average (ERA) and a 1.20 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP). He also has 58 strikeouts and 23 walks in 66.2 innings pitched.
The Dominican pitcher is one of the best closers in the trade market and he led the major leagues in saves last season with 47. He also had 37 saves in the 2016 season.
