BREAKING: Yankees sign SS Troy Tulowitzki
Late Tuesday evening, Jeff
Passan of ESPN broke news that the New York Yankees were in agreement with free-agent
shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The one-year contract, which will pay Tulowitzki the
league minimum salary, provides the Yankees with a stopgap option at SS while Didi
Gregorius recovers from offseason Tommy John Surgery. Passan also notes that this deal does not
preclude the team from continuing to pursue Manny Machado.
Free agent shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is in agreement on a deal with the New York Yankees pending a physical, league sources tell ESPN. Tulowitzki is expected to join the Yankees on a league-minimum deal, with the Toronto Blue Jays paying the remainder of his $20 million salary.— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 2, 2019
Tulowitzki, who grew up
idolizing Derek Jeter, and wore his #2 for his entire career in honor of him,
will finally get to fill the shoes of his childhood hero, albeit for a limited
amount of time before Gregorius’ return.
Tulowitzki has not played in a
Major League Baseball game since July of 2017, when hamstring and ankle
injuries ended his season. He then
missed all of 2018 with bone spurs in his feet that required surgery.
Photo Credit: Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press (via AP) |
At a recent showcase in California, however, Tulowitzki looked good both at his natural shortstop position as well as at the plate. 11 teams were in attendance, but it was the allure of following in the footsteps of his idol Jeter that drew Tulowitzki to New York.
Tulowitzki was recently cut from the Toronto Blue Jays with 2 years and a guaranteed $38 million still owed to him ($20 million in 2019, $14 million in 2020, $4 million buyout on a $15 million 2021 club option), so the Yankees will be paying him the same amount they would have Ronald Torreyes had he not been DFA’d last month. Tulo, however, offers a far greater ceiling, even at his age of 34 and injury-riddled past.
This is a good get for the
Yankees regardless of how the Manny Machado sweepstakes end. The Yankees get a proven veteran, with five All
Star Game appearances to his name, to fill the gap in the infield while Didi is
out, but maybe more importantly, they get insurance for their infield depth
should Machado land with the Phillies or White Sox.
By no means is this a
ground-breaking acquisition, and there is even a good chance Tulowitzki’s body
fails him again and the Yankees don’t get much out of him at all, but
considering he comes at a league minimum salary and has a strong track record
of success, it makes too much sense to not at least roll the dice on him. Expect Tulowitzki to start at shortstop early
in the year, keeping Gleyber Torres at second base for the time being, and then
he can play an infield utility roll upon Gregorius’ reinsertion into the every
day lineup.
The big question here now
becomes: Assuming the Yankees sign Manny Machado, what does this mean for the future
of Miguel Andujar? We’ll break this down
in another piece later in the week so be sure to stay tuned.
Article by: Andrew Natalizio
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