Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports
The Toronto Blue Jays announced that they have released shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, making him a free agent.
Tulo, 34, has two years and $34 million left on his contract. He signed a 10-year, $157,750,000 contract prior to the 2011 season.
On track for the Hall of Fame before being infected by the injury bug, Tulowitzki has been notoriously injury-prone throughout his career. Despite this, he has made five All-Star teams, won two Gold Gloves, and finished in the top-10 of MVP voting three times (2009-2011). He was with the Colorado Rockies before being traded to the very talented Blue Jays in 2015 in a deal that sent Jose Reyes to Denver.
After managing to play in 128 and 131 games in 2015 and 2016 respectively, Tulo appeared in just 66 games in 2017 before missing all of 2018 due to bone spurs in both heels. Per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, Tulowitzki is said to be “in best health in a long time.” This is the same surgery process that Yoenis Cespedes is missing extended time for.
As the Blue Jays are eating the $38 million he’s owed (which includes a $4 million buyout on his 2021 club option), whichever team he lands with will only have to pay the league minimum salary which, in 2018, was $545,000.
Over the course of his career, Tulo has played in 1286 games, amassing a .290/.361/.495 slash line with 224 home runs and 779 RBIs. He is a career .213/.260/.368 hitter across 35 playoff games.
