In a stunning move, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired All Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and veteran reliever LaTroy Hawkins from the Colorado Rockies last night, in exchange for Jose Reyes, highly regarded pitching prospects Jeff Hoffman and Miguel Castro, and one other minor league player to be named.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported the deal and also adds that Tulowitzki will pick up a $2MM assignment bonus and a full no-trade clause by virtue of being dealt.
The Rockies save about $50 million in salary between the two. But wow, this was shocking.
Currently the Blue Jays are in second place in the American League East, but they’re seven games behind the Yankees.
Tulowitzki, 30, is a career .299/.372/.514 hitter, who averages 29 homers and 102 RBIs over 162 games. He’s a five-time All-Star and he’s under contract until 2021.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post as well as others, believe there’s a good chance that the Rockies will now flip Reyes for more prospects and salary relief. And of course that will only stir up rumors of a Mets reunion so stay tuned for plenty of debate on that.
July 27
According to Ken Rosenthal of CBS Sports, the Mets have spoken to the Colorado Rockies this past week, about possibly acquiring All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
However, the Mets got the sense that Tulowitzki is not on the trade block. Furthermore, Tulowitzki himself has made it clear he wishes to remain in Colorado.
“I didn’t sign my contract because I wanted to be somewhere else,” said Tulowitzki. “I signed my contract because I wanted to be with the Rockies.”
Tulowitzki signed a 10-year, $157.75 million deal in 2010, which includes an option for 2021 worth $11 million. He has about $100 million remaining on the deal.
“We’ve got some good, young talent here and on the way,” said Tulowitzki. “We have the makings of a team that can win. To win here would be very satisfying.”
It could be posturing, Tulo to maintain his image, and the Rockies to maintain their leverage.
Tulowitzki, 30, is hitting .309 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs this season, and is currently riding a 43 game on-base streak. More importantly, he’s managed to stay healthy and avoid the disabled list.
Clearly, Mets GM Sandy Alderson continues to shop for a big bat. Asked to comment by reporters at Citi Field, Alderson would only say that he continues to examine and explore the market and hopes that there’s still something big out there for the Mets. And for what it’s worth, the Tulo rumors never seem to go away.
This weekend we’ve learned that he was willing to trade injured right-hander Zack Wheeler in a deal for Jay Bruce, and today we learned that he has inquired on gold glove shortstop Andrelton Simmons. If nothing else, it shows that the Mets are still not done and continue to shop the trade market for at least one more big addition.
