It was time for Toronto to let Tulowitzki go
There was no trade market among the other 29 teams for a formerly great shortstop
With the holiday season in full swing, the Blue Jays on Tuesday shockingly decided they no longer had room for a ghost of Christmas past.
The Jays released 34-year-old shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and the huge $38 million (U.S.) in salary still owed the former five-time all-star for the next two seasons, plus a buyout.
For Jays GM Ross Atkins at the winter meetings in Las Vegas, it was a busi- ness-slash-baseball decision based on reasons that logically could be argued as must-do for a rebuilding franchise.
First, there was absolutely no trade market among the other 29 teams for a formerly great shortstop who has not been in a major-league game since July 28, 2017. Any team that may be interested in Tulowitzki as their starting shortstop in 2019 would first have needed to see he was healthy and that his glove and bat were MLB-ready again. Spring training for the Jays would have become a tryout camp for one man and at the same time a month of preparation for others.
That distraction in Dunedin during the months of February and March would have been untenable for a team that has already closed the window on the veteran-laden playoff teams of 2015-16.
A primarily first-year coaching staff is responsible for deciding which young prospects deserve playing time next season. There has seldom been a spring with more jobs up for grabs, and they all need playing time.
This is the organization’s priority, rather than helping Tulowitzki find his next job. Instead, the Jays briefly opened that already-closed window
and tossed out the last straggler. There is no salary cap in baseball, but the best they could have hoped for in a trade was to eat the vast majority of the remaining $38 million owed. Why not move him to another position and let him compete at second base or back up Justin Smoak at first? The problem there is that the proud two-time Gold Glove Award winner made it clear when he visited the Jays on the final homestand in September at Rogers Centre that he was totally unwilling to be anything but a shortstop. His plan was to report to camp and show the Jays he had come all the way back.
Unfortunately, the Jays feel they need to see as many innings as possible out of Lourdes Gurriel Jr., their shortstop of the immediate future.
Don’t cry for Tulowitzki. He had nothing to lose by standing firm against suggestions of a position change. In baseball, money is guaranteed, so he could stand by his dream. By the way, for those who believe the Jays were OK financially last season, be aware there was no insurance policy to help the team out with the $20-million the Jays were forced to eat when Tulo played zero games due to double bone-spurs and double surgery. As for the long-term deal, recall that the original contract was signed with the Rockies.
In hindsight, it should have been obvious the Jays’ intentions towards Tulowitzki last Wednesday, when Atkins spent time at the Toronto baseball writers annual meeting. He was asked about the chances of a Tulo rebound to form and his possible return as a key piece with a return to a meaningful leadership, even if in a lesser role.
“Performance is such a big part of leadership,” Atkins said. “It’s really hard to have a significant influence or impact if you’re not there every day and performing at some level. I think veteran leadership is more important when you’re in the World Series, for having the experience of having been there and having won before.”
Then, the third-year GM, who inherited Tulowitzki’s contract in the winter of 2015-16, was asked the likelihood of a full return to health and the possibility he might be able to win his starting job back in the spring.
“Candidly, and I think that Troy would agree with me, that is not likely,” Atkins said. “He would have to overachieve to play shortstop at above average level with above average offensive performance for 140 games. That would be unlikely based on what has occurred in the last 2 1⁄2 years. But that doesn’t mean he’s not going to do it. But candidly, I don’t think that’s likely.”
Not here, anyway. The Jays waited until they got to Las Vegas to speak to Tulo, which is where he has his home. In fact, the Jays are doing him a favour by releasing him.
Once they realized no team was willing to offer prospects and would also require the Jays to eat the lion’s share of the remaining contract, Atkins just cut him loose. This allows the Californian to make his own deal with a team that offers him the best opportunity to resume a borderline Hall of Fame career.
So how much, in fact, did the trade in July 2015 executed by Alex Anthopoulos cost the Blue Jays in the long run? The answer is surprisingly little, dollar for dollar and in performance on the field. But Tulowitzki and the Jays did take part in two American League championships.
At the time the trade was made, the Jays were bouncing back and forth at the .500 mark. One of the reasons had been the horrible play of shortstop Jose Reyes, who routinely allowed ground balls to squeeze by him for base hits and whose bat was not what was needed to earn a postseason berth.
So in what became addition by subtraction, the Jays worked out the deal for Tulowitzki and balanced it by shipping out the struggling, expensive Reyes. The combination of Tulo and Ryan Goins for two months, plus David Price and the other acquisitions, became the key. Without the trade, Reyes was sabotaging that ship. In addition, the Reyes contract they inherited from the Marlins still had $48 million remaining for 2016-17, including an option. He had now made himself untradeable — unless it was dollar for dollar, which is what the Rockies offered.
Make no mistake, Tulowitzki is not done as a major league player, but it is best for all sides he has moved on. Tulowitzki is a great teammate and a student of the game. He cares about his teammates and tries to make them better. He could be cantankerous, but was gracious if you talked the game and knew the game.
But according to sources, when the Jays were in Oakland at the end of July there was a players-only meeting. Tulowitzki spoke passionately about what needed to be done. But many young players and newcomers that had not been at spring training wondered — who is this guy? Time to go.