Rockies trade rumors: Cardinals, Giants inquiring about Colorado outfielders

Since the signing of Mike Leake to strengthen their rotation, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to have turned to the trade market, and the Colorado Rockies, to replace Jason Heyward with a new outfielder. This, from a tweet by Morosi this morning:

#STLCards engaged in trade dialogue with #Rockies about outfielders. Gonzalez, Blackmon, Dickerson are available. @FOXSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 23, 2015

Leake signing a long-term deal makes the Cardinals the perfect trade partner for the Rockies, as they are now less likely to spend on another large free agent acquisition. They also have even more starting pitching depth than they did before, which may make their pitching prospects like Alex Reyes, Jake Flaherty, and Marco Gonzales available in a trade to the Rockies.

While Morosi didn't specify which of the Rockies' outfielders they are interested in, the pitching depth in the Cardinals' system means it isn't too difficult to imagine possible trades involving any of the three.

The Giants, who seem less of a perfect trade partner, are also interested in acquiring one of the Rockies outfielders, according to Morosi:

"Meanwhile, the Giants also are speaking with the Colorado Rockies about their available outfielders.
Rockies GM Jeff Bridich appears willing to trade within the division, as long as he gets the pitching he desperately needs. That said, it's hard to imagine he wants to trade Carlos Gonzalez -- an MVP talent when healthy -- to a National League West rival.

Charlie Blackmon, with a .789 OPS over the past three seasons, is the more feasible acquisition for San Francisco. Blackmon bats left-handed and played all three outfield positions for the Rockies this year."

Purple Row will have more news as it becomes available.

For more analysis of the potential return from the Cardinals, click here for a breakdown of their top pitching prospects.