TULO ERA ENDS
Blue Jays release veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, eat $38M still owed him
LASVEGAS—In describing the end of the Troy Tulowitzki era as a Toronto Blue Jay on Tuesday, Ross Atkins managed to keep a straight face.
The team’s general manager twice said that the 34-year-old shortstop was “unbelievably professional and respectful” when informed his services would no longer be required at the Rogers Centre and anywhere else the team plays.
Which begs the question: Who wouldn’t be professional and respectful after getting paid out a whopping US$38 million to be set free to pursue further major-league employment with any other team in baseball?
Ultimately, however, the Jays felt it was prudent to continue moving away from the recent successes and further toward the youth movement that is well under way.
“Where we are today and taking stock is not where we, ideally as an organization, wanted to be with Troy Tulowitzki, and certainly not what Troy planned either,” Atkins said from the team’s temporary operations suite 60 floors above the Vegas strip.
“It gives us roster flexibility and both (the team and player) to be more proactive.”
Atkins and his boss, team president Mark Shapiro, surely must have had to swallow hard when they went to the upper echelon bean counters at Rogers Communications with the proposition of such a massive buyout.
But they presumably did so with the spin that the future was worth expediting, no matter the cost.
“Supportive,” was how Atkins described the conversation going down. “Obviously, you have to explain our rationale, and there are many conversations that have been had, not just one.
“I don’t want to get into an accounting discussion, but that money’s on our books.”
Meanwhile, the tone around any Tulowitzki discussions recently was about as stable as a choppy craps table on the casino floor.
A week ago, Atkins said somewhat menacingly that Tulowitzki would have to “earn” his playing time despite declarations from the smooth-fielding shortstop last summer that he would pack his bags if he wasn’t the starter.
Then, on Monday, Atkins praised Tulowitzki for the condition he was in and all but declared him fully recovered from surgery to both of his heels that caused him to miss the entire 2018 season.
Perhaps that was a lastditch effort to dupe another team to making an offer for Tulowitzki but, alas, there were no takers.
A key part of the Jays’ run to their 2015 playoff appearance, Tulowitzki battled injury throughout his time with the club. And, now, like Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson, he’s a distant memory, as is the money former GM Alex Anthopoulos spent on the stars.
At best, Tulowitzki wasn’t going to be an everyday player
in 2019 and his exit certainly clears the way for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to assume the regular role at short.
Curiously, though, a week after saying if the season started tomorrow, Gurriel would be the starting shortstop, Atkins backed off that assertion on Tuesday.
“We don’t make these moves to send messages,” Atkins said when asked how the team’s fans might digest the news. “They’re all difficult decisions. Our goals remain the same, to build a sustainable winning team. What we’re excited about is having a lot of flexibility and a lot of youth in our makeup of our roster and continuing to build around that is our goal.”
Though it’s been a while since he played, Tulowitzki will certainly be fondly remembered by the fan base and in the clubhouse where he was widely recognized as a leader.
The native of Santa Clara, Calif., has a career batting average of .290 with 224 home runs, 779 RBI, and an OPS of .856 in 12 seasons with the Colorado Rockies and the Jays.
“The steady nature of his defence, the remarkable accuracy of his throwing, the intensity of his at-bats … every one of them, there was a chance for the ball to go out of the ball park,” Atkins said when asked about what he’ll remember most about Tulowitzki’s skills. “The influence on his teammates and people in the clubhouse, not just players, was always positive and (with) a commitment to winning.”
Atkins sounded earnest enough when describing the disappointing conclusion of the Tulo era. That said, once his Rogers superiors signed off on the write-off, there had to be a sense of relief as well.
Tulowitzki is now free to field offers from any other team and Atkins said he will be “pulling for him” wherever he lands.
“It’s not the way anyone would plan it or script it,” Atkins said. “What I think of Troy Tulowitzki is his passion for the game is unmatched and his commitment to the organization was 100 per cent the whole time he was here.”