Tulowitzki Tuesday: Blue Jays Acquire Troy Tulowitzki

Early Tuesday morning,  the Blue Jays acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 42-year-old relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins from the Rockies for shortstop Jose Reyes, pitching prospects Miguel Castro and Jeff Hoffman, as well as one other player.

Although the Jays didn't touch on their biggest issue on this roster, the pitching, they definitely upgraded on defense and offense. Tulowitzki is a career .299 hitter and over the last 3 seasons is hitting .316. Since 2007, Tulowitzki leads all shortstops in OPS (.893), HR (186), RBI (650), and WAR (40.0).

However, like Reyes, Tulowitzki has had his share of injury problems. In 2012, Tulowitzki required surgery on his groin, requiring him to miss most of the season; he was limited to just 47 games. In 2013, he missed 25 games with a fractured right rib. And last season, Tulowitzki injured his hip, which again required surgery, he was limited to 91 games that year. In fact, over the last 3 seasons (the length of time Reyes has been on the Jays), Tulowitzki has played 1 fewer game than Reyes (304). The Jays are definitely upgrading on defense and offense, but they are also getting another injury prone shortstop. These injuries are more worrying considering the fact the Blue Jays play on astroturf, how will his hip and groin hold up?

Injuries aside, I do like this trade, it's not like the Jays aren't used to having an injured shortstop, but it does not solve the problem the Jays have had for years: their pitching. But what this trade does do is give the Jays even more offense in their all-star offensive lineup. This gives the Jays a chance to offer one of their big bats up for a starting pitcher. The Jays offense is so potent that players like Encarnacion become expendable. As of this writing, the Jays lead the majors in runs scored with 528!

I don't expect this to be the only move AA makes before the July 31st trade deadline, if he is going to go after a big name starter (Jeff Samardzija anyone?), he now has more options, whether it's Encarnacion, Chris Colabello, or, dare I say it, Jose Bautista, they will still have power in their lineup. Most importantly, they can get a big name without sacrificing prospects. The Jays' core is ageing and their window of opportunity is slowly closing, now is the time they need to go for it all. Tulowitzki is certainly a step in that direction.