Troy Tulowitzki is 34 years old, spent the entire 2018 season on the disabled list and is owed $38 million over the next two years.
He seems like a very odd fit for the Pirates. At least, on the surface.
However, there are reasons why the Pirates have enough interest in the free agent that they had representatives attend a workout Tulowitzki held Tuesday at Long Beach State, his alma mater.
For openers, the Pirates need a shortstop after allowing Jordy Mercer to leave as a free agent. Erik Gonzalez, acquired from the Indians last month in a trade, and rookie Kevin Newman are presently the top options at the position, and neither has proven himself as a regular in the major leagues.
Secondly, Clint Hurdle knows Tulowitzki well. Hurdle was the Rockies’ manager in 2007 when Tulowitzki made his major league debut and helped lead Colorado to the only World Series appearance in franchise history. They were together for three seasons.
Third, and most importantly from the Pirates’ perspective, bringing Tulowitzki to spring training would pretty much represent a free look at a player who has been selected to five All-Star Games and won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers.
Because they released him last week, the Blue Jays would be responsible for paying all the but the minimum salary of $555,000 if Tulowitzki signs with another team and makes its opening-day roster. The Blue Jays would be on the hook for rest of the money left on his contract.
A person with direct knowledge of the situation told DKPittsburghSports.com that Tulowitzki wants an opportunity to be a regular. That, coupled with the fact that he knows Hurdle, has put the Pirates near the top of his list.
However, the person also said the one factor that could work against the Pirates is location. Tulowitzki grew up in Sunnyvale, Calif., and would be more willing to be a bench player with the Athletics or Giants than other teams.
Whether Tulowitzki still can play is hard to determine at this point. He was said to look healthy Tuesday after having surgery on both heels earlier this year.
Yet, when he last played in 2017, Tulowitzki hit just .249/.300/.378 with seven home runs in 66 games while being an average fielder with zero defensive runs saved.
In his 12-year career, Tulowitzki is a .290/.361/.495 lifetime hitter with 224 home runs in 1,286 games.