After a brief jambaroo hiatus, we’re back at it with round 5. I’m gonna go ahead and get a little crazy here, but if we weren’t having fun, it wouldn’t be a very good jambaroo.
Who: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies. Born October 10th, 1984, bats RH.
2012: Troy had a fairly irrelevant 2012, all things considered. He suffered a groin injury early on, and subsequent surgery ended his season after only 47 games. His line for the year was .287/.360/.486
Pros: Everything? When healthy he’s quite possibly the best shortstop in the game. Coors Field or not, Troy has a career OPS of .868. Prior to 2012, he had three phenomenal seasons where he posted a combined line of .304/.376/.554, averaged 30 home runs, and combined it all with great defense. As a hitter, he presents no flaws whatsoever, being able to hit for average and power simultaneously while also maintaining great strikeout and walk rates. He can even steal a bag or two, although stolen bases are not a regular part of his game.
Tulowitzki is also a pure shortstop who consistently gets love from metrics as a + defender. Along with good range, he gives away few errors, recording only 6 in 2011.
I could keep going, but it would just be cumulative evidence. Troy Tulowitzki is a legitimate candidate for every award in a given season.
Cons: The biggest red flag is his injury history. Since getting a fulltime gig in 2007, Troy has averaged 120 games a year, which hardly qualifies him for Ironman status. In 2008, he suffered a torn quadriceps tendon and a large cut to his right hand. In 2010, he suffered a fractured wrist after being hit by a pitch. Those combined with 2012’s groin injury are a troubling sign. You wouldn’t expect fractures and cuts to be recurring problems, but tears and strains might be.
The contract is also big enough to be considered a con, especially if he’s spending it on the disabled list. He’s owed $140 million dollars over the next 8 years, along with a $15 mil team option after that ($4 mil buyout). I mean, I’m sure it’s insured, but still.
Cost of acquisition: This where it gets silly. His contract alone would require a drastic reorganization of the team, not even accounting for the talent required to get him. Throw that in, and the Tigers with Tulowitzki would bear little resemblance to what they are right now. Whether that’s good or bad, I’ll let you determine. I’ll propose two possibilities.
Rockies Rebuild: Tigers could give up 5 or 6 of whatever prospects the Rockies would like, without restriction (this is how the Cabrera deal went down). Garcia, Castellanos, Suarez, Rondon, Thompson, Crosby, something like that. Would that be enough? Not even close. Tigers would still have to throw in more MLB talent: another reliever, Smyly or Porcello, Andy Dirks? If the Rockies decided to go full rebuild, the Tigers taking on the full contract would help in keeping some of the major league talent home. They are crowded in the outfield right now, but they could move Cuddyer to 1st and open up a corner. Maybe they would want fewer players in exchange for Austin Jackson?
Rockies Sour on Tulo: Hey, it’s a huge contract, and he’s not durable. Josh Rutledge was solid in his place, and so maybe the Rockies want a new cornerstone player. Prince Fielder? The Tigers could deal Fielder, someone like Fister or Scherzer, and cover the difference in cash, and make it work. With Todd Helton’s advanced age, the Rockies aren’t exactly flush with 1B cornerstones at the moment. Or, maybe they want Cabrera or Verlander, at which point Colorado would be adding their own players to make that work. Verlander in Coors would prove once and for all whether anyone can pitch effectively in that park.
Other notes: No, the Tigers are not trading Fielder, Cabrera, or Verlander. This is obviously a purely academic exercise that was proposed to me, but I think there’s some intriguing aspects to consider. We talk about positional value in esoteric terms, assigning number values and using a spectrum and so forth, but considering an actual deal like Fielder for Tulowitzki allows you to weigh the value in a better context. How much is the sentimental value worth for a guy like Verlander, if the Rockies offered Tulo along with some other highly regarded players? And from the Rockies point of view, when do injury concerns and a large contract become too onerous to stick with your MVP-caliber talent?
Ducks on the Pod 