CarGo No Longer An Option For The Mets..Or Is He?

I'm one of the few who spent the summer questioning why on earth the Rockies would ever trade away Carlos Gonzalez.  It just didn't add up for me.  Granted CarGo's services are about to get pretty expensive ($10.5M in 2014 rising every season to $20M in 2017), but you're talking about a twenty-seven year old who is not only under contract for years to come, but he also had a chance to lead the league in home runs prior to getting injured this summer.  Maybe he isn't an elite player..certainly not as rare as a Troy Tulowitzki, but still.

I felt pretty vindicated yesterday when the news broke that Rockies wouldn't be trading the young slugger this winter.  Again..why would they?  However, after a little more research I learned that Rockies owner, Dick Monfort, actually said the following:

My plan is to always keep them (Tulowitzki and Gonzalez). Is that the smartest thing in the world to do? I don't know but our fans think so.

Wow..that is about as non-committal as it comes!  In fact, I'm more confident that CarGo is available than I have ever been.  According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, many people in Colorado believe that a full rebuild is in order.  That's likely the reason Troy Tulowitzki's name came up as a possible trade option this week.  Again, while I think it would lead to full fan revolt, I can only begin to imagine the prospects the Rockies would receive in return for the two of these guys.

So I suppose this leaves the option of Carlos Gonzalez on the table this winter for the Mets brass, and the large portion of the fan base that has been demanding his acquisition since early summer.  I'm less certain the Mets have/are willing to part with the prospects necessary to make the trade happen.  However for the time being, that isn't the issue.  For a team looking to fill so many holes, the possibility of Gonzalez still provides hope.

As October and November give way to December and January we'll undoubtedly get a better idea of where Mr. Monfort's intentions really lie.  We'll also have a better idea of what the Mets' front office is thinking.  But for the time being at least, all options remain on the table this winter.