Another season for the Rockies, and another losing season that includes Troy Tulowitzki being on the disabled list. It’s been too familiar. Something has to give sooner or later. The Rockies have to wonder if it’s worth paying so much money to a star that is constantly hurt every year.
That’s why there have been rumors about Tulowitzki being on the trade block this offseason as WFAN’s Mike Francesa reported few weeks ago.
Tulowitzki missed 25 games with a rib injury, and the Rockies never recovered from that. They started losing frequently as soon as he was on the disabled list in June.
It’s easy to understand why the Rockies are thinking about trading Tulowitzki. As great as he is, he is useless if he is hurt every year. It’s hard to pay a guy who can get hurt at anytime, especially with Tulowizki having a long-term contract.
After coming back on the disabled list, Tulowitzki was not the impact player that the Rockies expect him to be. He hit nine home runs and drove in 29 runs. Those numbers are decent, but it was not what he did in the pre-All-Star break when he hit 16 home runs and drove in 52 runs. It was hard for him to be the player he was in the first half after dealing with an injury.
The Rockies publicly said Tulowitzki won’t be traded, but what they said and what they do are two different things. No one expected the Rockies to say publicly he is going to be traded. No team ever admits their player will be traded when rumors start.
There has to be a reason why Tulowitzki is rumored to be heading to St. Louis or New York. Put his long-term contract and his chronic injuries together, and it’s easy to understand why anyone would put two on two together that would result to him being a trade rumor headline.
It would be foolish to trade Tulowitzki for the sake of trading him. Unless the Rockies receive a deal that forces them to think, he is not going anywhere.
Still, Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd will engage with other clubs and create a trade market for Tulowitzki. He wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t. He has to do something in doing whatever he can to improve the Rockies. The Rockies have to make changes after another losing season that helped them clinched last place last night in their 11-0 loss to the Dodgers. If trading Tulowitzki makes the Rockies better, so be it.
For the record, it’s going to be hard to trade Tulowitzki. As good as he is, teams have to know something is up for the Rockies to trade him. They are going to ask themselves why a good player like him would be trades. They also know about his injury history.
Maybe the Yankees could be interested in trading for Tulowitzki. They can pay his salary, and they wouldn’t be turned off about being hurt. The problem is the Yankees have nothing to offer in the farm system. O’Dowd is not going to take projects or questionable prospects for a proven player.
What O’Dowd is hoping is Tulowitzki would appeal to the Cardinals. Good luck to that. It’s hard to believe that team needs him when they are having another winning season with another playoff berth to show for it. The Cardinals can win the World Series without Tulowitzki.
The Cardinals’ farm system is the gold standard in baseball. They churn out prospects, and they become productive players once they play in the Major Leagues. They value them, so it’s hard to believe they will give them up for a player that gets hurt often. They are smart enough to know they are good enough without Tulowitzki.
The Angels are desperate, but their farm system is barren now.
It’s going to be hard to trade Tulowitzki than the Rockies realize, and that’s why he is going to stay more than anything. To say he is untouchable is ridiculous. Anytime a team has a losing season, no one is untouchable.
Trading Tulowitzki does not make the Rockies any better. As frustrating as his injury is, he can produce when he is healthy. It’s hard to replace a player like that despite how many prospects the Rockies get in return for him. They were fortunate to get value in Carlos Gonzalez when they acquired him for Matt Holliday in 2008, but there’s no guarantee teams get value in return once they trade a valuable asset.
The uncertainty of what the Rockies would get return for Tulowitzki is why it’s not a great idea to trade him.
The Rockies are better off praying Tulowitzki is healthy for them than hoping a prospect pans out for them after acquiring him for the Rockies shortstop.
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
