After an injury-plagued tenure in Toronto, the Blue Jays release SS Troy Tulowitzki. Tulowitzki first arrived in Toronto as a part of the flurry of trades at the 2015 trade deadline that also netted the Blue Jays RHP David Price, OF Ben Revere, and RHP LaTroy Hawkins. Tulowitzki then was a part of the Blue Jays runs to the ALCS in both 2015 and 2016. He missed the entire 2018 season due to injury.
Given all of his recent injury struggles, it’s easy to forget how productive Tulowitzki was before his tenure in Toronto. In his career, Tulowitzki is a 5-time All-Star, a 2-time Gold Glove award winner and a 2-time Silver Slugger. He has slashed .290/.361/.495 (AVG/OBP/OPS) for his career, and has hit 224 home runs.
Now that he is a free-agent, we will look at some teams who could benefit from giving the 34 year old shortstop another chance to prove himself.
1. New York Yankees
With current SS Didi Gregorius expected to miss a chunk of the 2019 season after offseason Tommy John Surgery, the Yankees could use an interim solution while they wait for him to return. Assuming the Yankees don’t instead sign star free agent SS Manny Machado, with whom he is meeting with on Wednesday according to Sports Illustrated’s Michael Shapiro, Tulowitzki could help bridge the early season gap at shortstop, and he would likely do so on an inexpensive one-year deal. After Gregorius returns, he would still provide an experienced bat for the bench.
2. Oakland Athletics
The Athletics has recently thrived on signing veteran players to inexpensive deals (see 2B Jed Lowrie, RHP Edwin Jackson, C Jonathan Lucroy, to name a few) and Tulowitzki could be their next find. With 2018 starting second baseman Jed Lowrie a free agent, they currently have an opening at second base. If the A’s feel they aren’t ready to hand the second base job to 22-year-old Franklin Barreto or utility man Chad Pinder, then Tulowitzki would give them a proven veteran who would come on a cheap deal.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates currently have young Kevin Newman and Erik Gonzalez atop their depth chart at shortstop, so they could use a veteran fill-in with a pedigree like Tulowitzki does. The Pirates quietly finished 2018 with a winning record, and 2018 SS Jordy Mercer has just signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers. Tulowitzki would be a low risk signing that provides plenty of upside if Tulowitzki can show he has something left in the tank.
4. Los Angeles Angels
Much like the Athletics, this would require a position switch, as the Angels have defensive wizard Andrelton Simmons entrenched at SS. The Angels, however, do have an opening at 2B after the trade deadline deal of Ian Kinsler to the eventual world champion Boston Red Sox. The Angels have the impending free agency of superstar Mike Trout to worry about, so they could have some motivation to try to contend now. Signing Tulowitzki would give them a proven veteran bat at a low price. If Tulowitzki can get anywhere close to the kind of production he provided in his Colorado tenure, it would go a long way into thrusting the Angels back into the playoff picture.
BaseballNerd 