FanPost

Is Troy Tulowitzki Worth A Trade?

tulo

After a meeting with his agent, Colorado Rockies Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki has said he won't demand a trade from the team.

"Whatever happens on the Rockies’ end happens, but for me to sit here and try to force my way out of here, that’s not the case," Tulowitzki said. "I don’t think it’s fair to my teammates and the relationships I’ve built here to take that route."

But with the team sitting firmly in last place, and holding one of the worst records in the league, the Rockies may be forced to part with their shortstop in order to gain back some pieces to help rebuild for the future. Unfortunately, after a slow start to the season people can't help but speculate if his offseason hip surgery is having a lingering effect on the four time All-Star.

Tulowitzki has always enjoyed success in the early parts of the season, especially the last two years hitting a combined 13 homeruns, 38 RBIs, and batting a solid .377 in 51 games over the last two March/Aprils. However, this year he's struggling to find his power, only hitting 2 homeruns in 30 games this season.

But that's not where his struggles end, to go along with the power outage, Tulo is struggling to draw walks and finds himself striking out at a much higher rate this year. He has only drawn 2 walks in 116 at-bats, which translates to a morbid 1.7% walk rate, which is way down from his career average of 9.9%. As for his strikeouts, he has 29 already this season, translating to a 24.2% chance he'll strikeout when he comes to the plate, which is up from his average of 15.9%. To put this in perspective, Tulowitzki had 57 strikeouts last year in 91 total games, this year he's got 29 in 32 games.

On top of his early season woes and inability to stay healthy, Tulowitzki unsurprisingly is struggling on the road, only hitting .274 away from hitter friendly Coors Field, as opposed to .303 at home.

But what exactly would it take for a team to get Tulo? Well most people are speculating that it would take 2-3 top tier pitching prospects and a solid hitter to lure the Rockies into even considering trading the face of their franchise. But is that really worth it for a player riddled with as many question marks as Tulowitzki has? The All-Star shortstop also hasn't played in more than 130 games since 2011, and was limited to less than 100 in 2 of the last 3 years.

It seems as though the biggest contenders for Tulowitzki are the New York Mets, San Diego Padres, and New York Yankees who are all starving for production at the shortstop position.

The Mets have been linked to Tulowitzki since day 1. They've been looking for a permanent shortstop since they shipped Jose Reyes out of town. However, General Manager Sandy Alderson has remained firm in his position that they will not trade for Tulo, but they sure have the pieces to get something done.

Alderson is just not willing to ship out the pitching it would take to get him and pay the enormous contract the oft-injured shortstop is still owed. Colorado would reportedly be looking for the Mets to ship over top prospect Noah Syndergaard and a package of other top tier prospects like Jacob deGrom, Rafael Montero, Kevin Plawecki, and/or a veteran pitcher like Jonathon Niese or Dillon Gee. A more likely trade scenario involves the Chicago Cubs moving Starlin Castro to the Mets for a much lower price. Chicago Cubs General Manager, Jed Hoyer says he believes a trade with the Mets will eventually go down revolving around a shortstop and starting pitcher.

As for the San Diego Padres, they are starving for some help at shortstop as their players sit 25th in the league with a .219 average. After completely revamping their team over the offseason, the Padres are likely a shortstop away from being serious contenders, and currently sitting at just below .500, management can't be happy with how their investments are turning out. However, a lot of things are standing in the way of a Troy Tulowitzki trade to San Diego, such as:

  1. The Rockies aren't likely to trade their superstar within the Division.
  2. Tulowitzki's large contract could hurt the Padres financially moving forward.
  3. The Padres have nearly depleted their once highly regarded prospect pool after the flurry of trades this offseason.

On the other hand, nobody really expected them to make as many moves as they did, so never count out GM A.J. Preller from pulling the trigger. Lastly, never count out the New York Yankees from popping up in discussions about an All-Star Slugger. For the first time in over 20 years, the Yankees are filled with question marks at the shortstop position. After a questionable trade for Diamondbacks shortstop Didi Gregorius, the Yankees thought they had locked up that position for at least a few years. But after a rough start to the season, fans are already calling for his head. Gregorius is hitting a rough .210/.270/.248 on the season, and while he was regarded as a defensive wizard, he's struggled mightily in the field racking up 4 errors in just 33 games this year, after having just 5 in 67 total games last year. Yankees shortstops also rank near dead last in the league at the position with a .196 average.

On the other hand, the Yankees suddenly find themselves in control of a few young players that teams may find attractive. Rising star Dellin Betances could be the centerpiece of any deal, as well as 20-year-old Luis Severino, left-hander Ian Clarkin, and most likely a hitter or two like Aaron Judge. But General Manager Brian Cashman (like the Mets Sandy Alderson) has said relentlessly that they won't be involved in any talks about Tulo. But just like with the Padres, I'd hold any comments about it not happening for if/when Tulowitzki goes elsewhere, but even then you can never be too sure with the Yankees. Remember their plan to get under the luxury tax and then their subsequent $500 million spending spree in the offseason? Yeah, never count out the Yankees.

So this brings me back to my original point, is Troy Tulowitzki worth a trade? Yes, yes he is. Despite his injuries woes in seasons past, and his slow start to this season, Tulowitzki is a top tier hitter at a position starving for power. Should any deal go down, it's likely the Rockies would either take on some of his contract, or take a reduced prospect haul, not saying it would be a friendly deal and they would just be dumping him off to someone else, but it wouldn't be as big of a haul as some expect.

My most likely scenario is that Tulowitzki ends up in a Padres uniform, and the Mets and Yankees look elsewhere for help at shortstop. I firmly believe when Sandy Alderson and Brian Cashman say they are out, they are out. It would probably take some serious involvement from Yankees Owner Hal Steinbrenner for Cashman to pull off a deal. Despite Tulowitzki declaring shortly ago that he doesn't want to be traded, I expect the Rockies to at least explore their options about the All-Star Shortstop, and should a trade go down, look for the Padres to be heavily involved.

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