Yankees veteran Troy Tulowitzki has begun taking grounders at third base as well as his accustomed shortstop position, MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch reports on Twitter. Tulowitzki is said to have approached the club to express a willingness to move around the infield.
The 34-year-old Tulowitzki has never appeared at a position other than shortstop in his 13 seasons at the MLB level. (That’s also true of his 1200+ frames in the minors.) That’s a reflection of his well-deserved reputation for quality glovework at the game’s most challenging defensive position as well as his former excellence as as hitter. Teams have simply never had cause to utilize Tulowitzki elsewhere on the diamond, though there’s little reason to think he wouldn’t thrive in other positions.
Unfortunately, Tulo made it through only thirty innings of action this year before he was once again sidelined with a lower-body injury (this time, his calf). Even as he continues to work back to full strength, the man he was brought in to cover for — the younger Didi Gregorius — has made his own steady progress. Gregorius’s star rose steadily in New York before Tommy John surgery last October. Despite a rehab timeline that stretched into the middle of the 2019 campaign, the Yanks staked $12.4MM in arbitration salary on him.
So long as Gregorius makes it back as hoped — he’s still due to return at some point in June — there isn’t much of a path to playing time at short for Tulowitzki. Indeed, it’s not clear there’ll be a roster spot at all, even with third baseman Miguel Andujar sidelined for the duration of the season.
Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu are clearly at the top of the depth chart. Somehow, most of the Yanks’ fill-in infielders have produced at strong levels. Gio Urshela has been particularly impressive, turning in a robust .346/.400/.490 output in 115 plate appearances. And Thairo Estrada has posted a .303/.324/.545 slash through his first 35 turns at the MLB dish.
Injuries or setbacks could always intervene, as this team well knows, but there could be some tough choices when Tulowitzki and Gregorius are both healthy. It’s hard to fathom the Yankees bumping the out-of-options Urshela from the roster — barring a sudden collapse, at least. Estrada can be optioned, though that would only account for one roster spot. Switch-hitting slugger Kendrys Morales is the most vulnerable member of the roster, but he’s off to a hot start in the Bronx and offers a much-needed lefty bat.
They’re doing his surgeries at 3B now?
Impressive.
Lol
Not trying to be mean here (though it will likely sound as such), but why even bother getting excited about Tulo coming back and playing anywhere on the diamond? What’s the over/under on how many games he plays before his next IL stint – maybe twenty?
An apt time, perhaps, to ask opinions – has Tulo done enough in his career to be HOF?
Not even close.
He’d need at least three more all-star caliber seasons to even be in the conversation, and even then he’d be a long-shot. It’s just not going to happen.
No. He certainly had seasons that are HOF worthy but not enough of those middling seasons.
He’s certainly not Koufax enough to say he’s a HOF person.
Do you think things would be different if he wasn’t injured all the time? The guy gave my team hell when he played us. There’s this part of me that wishes he were able to play more though. He can be a really exciting player.
Things would be different for hundreds of players if they hadn’t been injured all the time. There’s more of those guys than there are actual Hall of Famers. I mean, just off the top of my head, Prior and Wood and Webb and Sizemore and Pedroia and Colavito and….I mean the list could go on and on.
No. He didn’t do enough, and was also a product of Colorado and coors field.
Classic Hall of Very Good player. Not Hall of Fame however.
Yup, you verbalized my opinion perfectly.
*Chrissy Teigen grimace*
-Harold Baines-
It’s weird looking back at it but I honestly don’t think he stands much chance at getting into the Hall of Fame. If you would’ve asked me about 5 years ago, my answer would be totally different but the injuries and the middling play when he has been healthy have doomed any chance, in my opinion.
That sucks because he was one of the players that really made me love watching baseball.
No. Even though there are lots of worse-hitting shortstops in the hall, the career numbers, especially for the era, are just not there. 1391 hits would be one of the very lowest of any hall of fame batter – just Campanella, Bresnahan and and Frank Chance have less. Chance is one of the worst Hall of Famers – he’s in because of a poem – and Bresnahan isn’t far behind. It’s puzzling to figure out why Bresnahan was elected. His career high in hits for a season was 142. He managed but not particularly well. He died during the voting period in 1944 so maybe, without any ability to look up stats for the most part, writers just conflated his career to epic proportion.
Campanella’s career started late because of the color line, and then ended early because of the car wreck. But he’s a well-deserving Hall of Famer.
Tulo, though, just won’t have the career numbers, unless he mounts some kind of mid-30s renaissance, which seems highly unlikely.
I would not have voted Roger Bresnahan into the HOF either. The Duke of Tralee introduced shin guards and developed a batting helmet. From my research, he is one of the first if not the first “Super Sub”.
Since “Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance” are all in the HOF, it makes more sense that Lou Whitaker belongs there. It is has always been: “Whitaker-Trammell” together, not separately.
There’s also the fact that Whitaker is miles better than any of those guys. He’s actually better than probably ten second basemen already in the hall.
I supose Bresnahan might be in for his pioneering defensive stuff as a catcher; I had sort-of forgotten about that. But his on-field performance, even in the context of the dead-ball era, doesn’t warrant it. I mean, Candy Cummings is in the Hall even though he only played six seasons and wasnt very good, but he invented the curveball, so he’s in as a “pioneer”
20? LOL. The over/under would be 4.5 games before he’s back on the IL.
Tulo is this generation’s Nomar Garciaparra. Put up some awesome numbers early on, then injuries kicked his career to the ground.
Let’s be honest, catcher is a more challenging defensive position than SS
1000%
SS requires a lot of range, arm and I guess activity but I’d rather be running after balls than playing at 3rd or pitcher and having balls come at me faster than I can react.
Catcher is the obvious hardest position of course.
Catcher is the hardest from a durability and mental standpoint. But to play SS at the level he has for this long takes a level of athleticism that very few on the planet have.
Also, saying “Let’s be honest” doesn’t actually make anything any more true. And let’s be honest, you only say it because you know it’s an indefensible position.
or maybe because I am involved at a high level of baseball & know catcher is the most important defensive position on the field. “Let’s be honest” is aimed more at the far flung write ups on here over exaggerating to sound intelligent.
The defensive spectrum goes C-SS-CF-2B-3B-RF-LF-1B. Catching requires something no other position really does, which is that he has to be familiar with a couple dozen pitchers on his staff over the course of a season, know how to call a game, know how receive and frame pitches effectively, have the ability to throw runners out; he also has to know the opposing team’s hitters well enough to know their weaknesses so he can call a good game. Allthis explains why most catchers don’t hit, and why the Jeff Mathis’ of the world consistently find jobs.
Tulo is not a Hofer.
It is not a tough decision, either Tulo is flexible where he plays or cut him. Not much will be lost at this point in his career.
He was too good to play anywhere other than SS last year in Toronto when he was still on his old Rockies contract. Funny how things changed in a year
Was thinking the same thing. He refused to play anywhere other than SS and said he’d rather retire. Now all of a sudden he’s willing to play anywhere on the diamond.
More places for him to get hurt at LOL. The man is worthless.
If he was a horse he would have been shot long ago…..
I hear Tulo’s been working out at the Cespedes’ Ranch…….
Shows how decimated the ballclub is. Yet they still continue to win. Yankees are dangerous.
Their AAA team is amazing.
The question is if the major league team is better or worse….
Eh, it happens with rookies though. When your exposure is limited, you tend to do well. But when the scouts start seeing you more, that’s when the men get separated from the boys.
So he’ll play third for two days between DL stints.
if i were him id just call it quits. too many injuries, and now having to get moved around.
He’ll probably retire once he’s released/traded by the Yankees or once his current contract is up, whichever comes first. I doubt he calls it quits while he currently still has a place on an MLB roster.
I mean, if people were willing to pay you to rehab, would you walk away?
That shows you have no clue about this situation. Because the Jays are contractually obligated to pay him his full salary whether Tulo rehabs or goes home. Tulo could’ve quit playing altogether the next 2 seasons and collected every dime. Every day he spends on a major league roster is just a dime the Yankees pay instead of the jays……
That’s not true. If a player voluntarily retires he forfeits his remaining salary. If Tulo just left the team and went home he’d be on the restricted list and wouldn’t collect his salary. If he is released and doesn’t sihgn anywhere else he’d still collect his salary though.
Chase Headley was released a month into the season last year, went home, but collected his salary because he didn’t file retirement paperwork with MLB.
Yeah obviously. I meant quit as in not play baseball anymore. He didn’t have to play at all the next 2 years to get all his money. Not officially retire obviously. A moot point anyway because if Tulo told the Yankees he didn’t want to go through another rehab I’m positive they’d happily send him packing.
Yeah, he’d have to be released and then not get picked up by another team, but I see what you mean. I don’t know how it would work if he was put on release waivers and was claimed by another team; I think if he refused to go to the new team he’d be placed on the restricted list and not collect his salary. I suppose as long as a team wants him he’s obligated to try to play if he wants to collect his paycheck.
I would also assume, from what little I know of Tulowitzki, that he’s a proud player and that most athletes want to go out on top rather than just fade away..
Yeah I highly doubt some team would be petty enough to claim Tulo if he was truly finished playing baseball. It’s not as if this is an MVP that doesn’t want to play anymore. I think teams would have better things going on then to block Tulo from wanting to hang up an injury riddled career.
No you wouldn’t.
A chance to play for the team you always dreamed of playing for and finally winning?
But you’d walk away because you had to play multiple positions?
He stepped on a pebble and dislocated his body.
So he refused to even entertain the idea of playing a different position as a Blue Jay but is volunteering to do so as a Yankee? That’s a slap in the face to the Blue Jays organization.
I don’t know if that’s sarcasm or not but ok.
Don’t believe the Rogers-controlled narrative. Tulo’s comments came from a place of realizing Gurriel wasn’t the SS of the future but the slated SS for 2019. Tulo wasn’t wrong.
When your team does better without you playing it wakes you up.
So, which will be greater?
The number of games he actually plays at 3b this season
The number of injury jokes made in this comment section
Since your joke total sits at a comfortable zero, the number of games.
“Switch-hitting slugger Kendrys Morales is the most vulnerable member of the roster, but he’s off to a hot start in the Bronx and offers a much-needed lefty bat.”
3 for 15 with a HR is “off to a hot start”?
Tiny sample regardless, but I wrote this before last night’s 0-for-5.
“I see”, said the blind man.
My apologies for the sarcasm, 3-10 (even for a small sample size” would fall under “a hot start”.
Thanks for that.
All good. I probably shouldn’t have even said that much since it was so brief.
He went 0/5 yesterday. The article was written before. That’s what small sample sizes do.
My wife told me size doesn’t matter.
Ursula is this years Solarte. They will flip him for a Vet 3B at the deadline for the playoff run.
Dump the bum.