Injured Tulowitzki welcomes competition
TORONTO — Troy Tulowitzki won’t play this season, but he fully intends to assume his position at shortstop in the Toronto Blue Jays infield in 2019.
The 33-year-old was injured on July 28, 2017, after stepping on the foot of Los Angeles Angels first baseman C.J. Cron, damaging Tulowitzki’s ligament creating a compression fracture in his right ankle that required surgery to repair.
He underwent a second surgery in April to remove bone spurs from both heels.
“It’s been a tough year to say the least. I went out to Florida, was out there on those back fields almost every day trying to go and it just didn’t respond the way I needed it to come back and play everyday,” Tulowitzki said.
“I have every intention to be healthy (for spring training). I’m going to put a lot of work in the off-season, I know I’m going to train at my college (California State University at Long Beach) a lot, try to get in games and do things. I’m excited for it, honestly.”
Tulowitzki, a veteran of 12 big-league seasons split between Toronto and Colorado, says he welcomes the competition in spring training.
“It really doesn’t matter to me, you don’t get to this point without competing,” he said in the Blue Jays dugout at Rogers Centre ahead of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.