Yankee Rumors: Tulowitzki A Far Reach For The Yankees

Today is a big day in the baseball world. Troy Tulowitzki is expected to meet with the Colorado Rockies front office, where he will be discussing his desire (or lack thereof) to continue playing for the last place team. Tulowitzki has been in the news the last two seasons with rumors of his dissatisfaction with his current club. On a current 11 game losing streak, sentiments are that it is time for him to skip town while he is young enough to enjoy a career with a real team.

Recently turning 30, the often injured shortstop is officially in the second half of his career. From 2012-2014 he averaged 88 games per season, his kryptonite. His stats looked great for the time he played, but it isn’t very helpful having a great player on the DL. Just last year he looked like he was off to his best year in his career before missing the second half of the season.

Tulowitzki has played in all 30 games this season and looked somewhat mediocre while doing it. He has a nice .303 average, but has just two walks on the year. Having a .303 average but a .310 OBP is almost comical. In his career, he averages 68 walks per 162 games played, so his current pace of 11 walks this season is way off. While that should level itself out, his power has been sapped as well. He only has 2 home runs and 11 RBI. While the RBI is a product of the terrible team around him, there is no real excuse for the home runs. If you say he isn’t seeing good pitches because of a lack of protection, you must not have been watching the Rockies for the last five years.

Now to turn this back into a New York Yankees article, let’s take a look at current shortstop Didi Gregorius. When the team traded for him this offseason, they knew his offensive prowess was lacking. The trade was made because he was a defensive powerhouse and they hoped his hitting would come along. In 30 games this season, Gregorius is hitting .212 and a .275 OBP. Of his 21 hits, 18 have been singles and the other three are doubles. He is three of four stealing bases. The issue has been his defense. He currently has a .968 fielding percentage, the worst in his career. He is on pace for over 20 errors, his previous high being 13 in his first full season.

The Yankees can afford to pay Tulowitzki’s salary. He is owed $114,000,000 through the 2020 season and has a $15 million dollar option in 2021 with a $4 million dollar buyout. However, they are getting close to having all their long expensive contracts expire. 2017 and 2018 are major years for the team as they will no longer be on the hook for Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, and Carlos Beltran. Depending on how much you care about the luxury tax, you either see that as a great opportunity for the team to get away from bloated contracts or an opportunity to open up the check book for Tulo.

The issue with Tulo isn’t only his injury issues. He will also cost any team that takes him a bunch of top tier prospects. For a salary of that length with that injury history, the prospects may just put him out of reach for almost everybody. The Yankees are considered a long run to have any interest in him, despite his love of Derek Jeter. There is simply too much on the line for the Yankees to risk that much for him.

I would love to see Tulo in the Bronx. However, the team can actually start to see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding current underwater contracts. Also, they have a strong farm team for the first time in twenty years. Is he really worth throwing both of those away? Most likely, Tulo will end up on the other side of New York if he goes anywhere at all.