St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies Pursuing Tampa Bay Rays Closer Álex Colomé
Trade talks have started to heat up and Tampa Bay Rays closer Álex Colomé's name has come up again as the Major League Baseball (MLB) Winter Meetings converge in Orlando, Florida this week.
According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Colorado Rockies are actively pursuing last season's saves leader, and both teams do have the necessary assets to swing a deal to acquire him for the Rays.
The Cardinals and the Rockies have been linked to Colomé before, so this news doesn't come as a surprise.
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After releasing right-hander Trevor Rosenthal in November, the Cardinals began their search for a new closer and they signed veteran reliever Luke Gregerson to a two-year, $11-million deal on Sunday, Dec. 10.
However, Gregerson struggled badly last season, so handling him the closer role may not be such a good idea. Colomé may not be the best closer in the MLB, but he has always been reliable and he did well during the 2017 season.
In any case, the team is still looking to add more arms to the bullpen after Seung-Hwan Oh, Zach Duke and Juan Nicasio left in free agency so trading for Colomé makes plenty of sense.
Meanwhile, the Rockies are still looking to fill the hole in the back end of the bullpen after Greg Holland left to become a free agent.
"General manager Jeff Bridich reiterated Monday that beefing up the bullpen is job 1 and a deal for Colome makes a lot of sense if the Rockies are willing to give up young prospects," Patrick Saunders wrote in his column for the Denver Post.
"But acquiring Colome only makes sense if the price is right. The Rays would likely want a lot in return in terms of prospect," he added.
Colomé went 2–3 with a 3.24 earned run average (ERA) and a 1.20 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) in 65 games last season. He also has 58 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched.
The Dominican pitcher led the majors in saves last season with 47.
