Yankees: Should they turn to Troy Tulowitzki if they miss out on Manny Machado?

On Tuesday free agent and five-time All-Star Troy Tulowitzki held a workout for over 10 teams that may have interest in signing him this offseason. The Yankees were one of the teams in attendance and if they don’t end up signing Manny Machado they could turn to Tulowitzki.

Today’s the day the Yankees will finally meet with superstar free agent Manny Machado and by all accounts, they are the favorites to sign him. However, there’s a chance that the Yankees won’t sign Machado if his asking price is too high or if they don’t like his explanation regarding his antics this past postseason.

If that’s the case then it’s likely the Yanks will look to sign a more affordable veteran middle infielder to a short-term deal to help them make up for the absence of Didi Gregorius. There’s plenty of quality shortstops for them to still choose from should they go that route but none of them are as intriguing as Tulowitzki.

Health has been a huge issue for Tulo throughout his career, especially over the past two seasons. He missed all of the 2018 season with a heel injury and in 2017 he only appeared in 66 games. Since coming over to the Blue Jays before the trade deadline in 2015 Tulo just hasn’t been able to stay on the field and his production has taken a big hit because of it. That’s part of the reason why he was released last week despite still being owed $38 million over the next two seasons.

According to reports, the workout for Tulo on Tuesday went very well and he looks like he still has plenty of baseball left in him. That’s good news because before his career was really ravaged by injuries with the Blue Jays there arguably wasn’t a more productive shortstop in baseball when he was with the Colorado Rockies. Now that he’s finally healthy there’s no doubt he’s going to get signed, but the question is by who?

Tulowitzki is the definition of a low-risk high reward signing because he’s barely going to cost anything next season. Since he’s still owed all that money from the Blue Jays Tulowitzki will likely sign a deal for the minimum this upcoming season at around $600,000. For that reason alone the Yankees will at least consider signing him if they believe that he can truly stay healthy.

During his career Tulowitzki has always been an above average defender, but with all the lower body injuries he’s suffered over the years, he might not be fit to play shortstop every day anymore. That’s one of the reasons why he’s reportedly willing to play second base next season. His range has probably taken a big hit so if he did end up signing with the Yanks he could shift to second if management felt more comfortable with Gleyber Torres at short.

The Verdict

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Predicting Yankees-Diamondbacks LF trade package after Ken Rosenthal update
• Yankees add to championship core with Wilmer Difo signing
• Aaron Judge’s ‘breadcrumbs’ showed he was never leaving Yankees, has more moves in mind
• Creating a Yankees-Bryan Reynolds trade package after latest Pirates update
• Yankees analyst Cameron Maybin projects surprise landing spot for Gary Sánchez

Even though it might seem like the Yankees don’t have anything to lose if they signed Tulo that’s not exactly true. From a money standpoint yes he’d cost them nothing but if he does end up getting hurt again and leaves the team with a hole in the middle of the infield that could certainly cost the Yanks in the win-loss department.

The Yankees can’t afford to lose another starter in their infield after already losing Didi earlier this offseason which is why I personally would avoid Tulowitzki. I know he looks like he’s healthy right now, but that’s after one offseason showcase. Let’s not forget he missed all of last season with duel heel injuries and time and time again before that he’s never been able to avoid the DL.

I’m sure he still has some pop left in his bat, but even before he got hurt in 2017 Tulowitzki clearly looked like a player on the decline in every aspect. I give him credit for coming back and I know he believes he could definitely help a team with an opening, but that team shouldn’t be the Yankees.

This upcoming season is way too important for the Yankees to risk giving a starting job to Tulowitzki only to see him land back on the DL by early April. I hate to be so negative, but when your goal is to win the division and go onto the World Series signing a player with all that injury history isn’t the way to go.

For his sake, I hope he proves me wrong and has a huge 2019 season, but given all that he’s been through I just don’t see it happening.