On Monday, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that the New York Mets contacted the Colorado Rockies about a possible trade for Troy Tulowitzki.  While this is a very aggressive move for the Mets, who would not be considered by most to be "buyers" approaching the July 31st Trade Deadline, it actually makes sense.

Sandy Alderson stumbled upon a Met franchise that was in shambles when he took over as the team's general manager after the 2010 season. They were no longer competitive, but they still had hefty contracts on the books from the previous Omar Minaya regime.  

Their farm system was one of the worst in the league, and there was not a ton of talent on the big league club. Alderson promptly unloaded some highly-paid stars, including Jose Reyes, Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, and plenty of others.

Beltran may have been the best trade of them all. The Mets gave the Giants a three-month rental in the outfield in exchange for Zack Wheeler, a top pitching prospect who was at Class A at the time. Beltran signed with the Cardinals after the season, and the Giants failed to make the playoffs.  

It was a trade that the Mets definitely got the better end of, a common theme in the Alderson era.

The next big blockbuster was with the Toronto Blue Jays.  The Mets shipped R.A. Dickey and two mediocre catchers to the Jays in exchange for top prospects Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard as well as two other players. Dickey has failed to live up to the Cy Young Award he won in his final season in New York, while it seems that d'Arnaud has finally figured out big league pitching and Syndergaard is primed to become the next dominant young arm in the Mets' rotation.

Again, advantage Mets.

There are more and more similar cases of Alderson winning on these deals. It hasn't been just in trades, it has been in costless agent signings and also the draft.  

He has shown a preference for picking high school hitters. Both of his first-round picks in his first two years as GM fit that profile. His first draft pick was outfielder Brandon Nimmo in the 2011 draft, and then he selected shortstop Gavin Cecchini in 2012. Both have developed into top prospects, and are ranked in the team's top ten prospects, according to MLB.com.

The signing of veteran Bartolo Colon was a gutsy decision based on Colon's age and hefty physique. The 41-year-old righty has been rock-solid since starting to call Citi Field his home. He currently sports a respectable 3.88 ERA and it is possible that he will bring a decent return if the Mets decide to move him before the deadline. Considering that Colon has turned in two spectacular starts in a row, he should have a few suitors.

Curtis Granderson has also started hitting. His average is a pedestrian .234, but he has launched 15 homers and driven in 44. He is one of the few bright spots in the hitting department for the Mets, and his numbers should improve if he gets some protection in the lineup in the near future.

That's where the Rockies come in to play as perfect trade partners for the Mets. The Rockies have two cornerstone hitters, Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, who could immediately make the Mets contenders. The Rox are a struggling team in desperate need of some pitching help.     

The Mets are the exact opposite. They have a huge crop of young hurlers, led by Matt Harvey. Neither Harvey nor Zack Wheeler will likely be traded, but everyone else is probably fair game. Major leaguer Jacob deGrom is a legitimate NL Rookie of the Year candidate, but we're sure Alderson would include him in the deal if it would get the Mets one of the two aforementioned Rockies.

Rafael Montero and Syndergaard are two huge prospects still in the minors who could be disposable, because manager Terry Collins can only have five starters in his rotation. The Mets could elect to move some of those arms to the bullpen, but that would decrease their overall value.

Just recently, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman has reported that the Rockies and Mets will most likely wait until after the season to reopen trade talks for Tulo or CarGo. So while this deal will not get done before the deadline, kudos to Alderson for being proactive in the negotiations.

He looked at what his team's biggest weakness is and tried to find a suitable partner.  The Rockies seem to fit the bill, and maybe they are so sick of losing that they will give up one of their big hitters. The two sides may never reach an agreement, but it is definitely a start for Alderson and the Mets.

If it's not the Rockies, then maybe it will be a different team in need of pitching. Either way, Alderson, a graduate of Dartmouth and Harvard Law School, will undoubtedly find a way to get something done. And if his track record in the Mets' front office is any indication, he will probably get the better end of the deal.

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About the author
Heath Clary
I am a sports columnist and blogger. I mostly write about the MLB and college football, but I do a little of everything