Almost a year has passed since Troy Tulowitzki was traded (along with LaTroy Hawkins) to the Toronto Blue Jays for Jose Reyes and three pitching prospects. After the Rockies chose to release Reyes just days before Tulowitzki and the Jays made their first trip to Denver since the trade, eating roughly $40 million in salary as a result, Rockies fans might feel that they got the lesser of the deal. But on Tuesday, MLB.com writer Thomas Harding joined Gil Whiteley on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 to discuss who really won last year’s trade.
“The only way to look at it is, you’re on the hook for $100-some-odd million with Tulowitzki. You saved $50 million and got a good shortstop for the future [in Trevor Story],” said Harding. “As much money as they were paying Reyes, it’s still half of what they would have been paying had they not made the trade.”
Reyes will continue to be on the Rockies payroll through 2017 (despite signing a minor league deal with the Mets over the weekend) where he will eat up just shy of $42 million from the ball club in that time. Adding Trevor Story’s $507,000 salary still doesn’t come close to what the Rockies would have payed for Tulowitzki at $109 million (he is signed through 2020 with an option for the ’21 season).
Salary may be a huge factor in evaluating who won this trade, but statistics heavily favor the Rockies as well. Colorado does not seem worried that it lost a two-time Gold Glove and five-time All-Star shortstop.
Tulowitzki, 31, is aging and has not performed as well as when he was in Colorado. Batting .214 so far this season, he is struggling at the plate to find himself.
On the other hand, Trevor Story, 23, is just making a name for himself in the MLB and in Colorado. Story is currently batting .271, which is among the top-5 batting averages for shortstops in the National League. His 19 home runs and 50 RBIs are far outpacing Tulowitzki’s 11 and 29.
Another caveat to Tulowitzki’s play is his health. He has battled a hand injury and a lingering quad injury that have caused him to miss 24 of the 78 games so far this season for the Blue Jays.
Again, Story wins here, as he has only missed four of the 76 games in 2106 for the Rockies.
The dollars and cents may add up, but Trevor Story is Colorado’s real saving grace in this situation and the real reason the Rockies won the trade.
To listen to the full discussion, as well as what Whiteley and Harding think about Tulo’s return to Colorado, listen to the podcast below…
https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/6-27-16-thomas-harding-and-gil-debate-if-the-tulowitzki-trade-has-worked-out-gfor-the-rockies
Catch Gil Whiteley every weekday from 11a-1p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
