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Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies Swap Shortstops Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Reyes

By Chris Okrainetz

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Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies Swap Shortstops Troy Tulowitzki, Jose Reyes

In a shocking trade just after midnight on Tuesday morning, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies, according to FOX Sports‘ Ken Rosenthal.

In exchange for Tulowitzki and relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, the Rockies will receive shortstop Jose Reyes, pitcher Miguel Castro, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets, Jeff Hoffman, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun tweets, and a minor league player to be named.

As a result of the stunning deal, Tulowitzki will receive a $2 million bonus and his contract now includes a full no-trade clause, according to Rosenthal.

After signing a 10-year, $158 million extension with the Rockies in 2011, the 30-year-old shortstop has five years remaining on his deal. Over those five seasons, Tulo is set to make $20 million annually from now until 2019, before receiving a $14 million payday in 2020 and a $15 million team option in 2021 that comes attached with a $4 million buy out.

Jun 24, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) throws back to first base in the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field. The Diamondbacks defeated the Rockies 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

It is certainly a steep financial commitment by the Blue Jays. However, it is one that gives them not only a lot of control, but also a dynamic building block to add to their infield core of Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and Devon Travis.

Of course, we all know that the Blue Jays still need pitching, and that Tulo isn’t exactly the most durable player. But even with that in mind, it’s hard not to be pleased with this trade.

Both Tulo and Reyes have problematic contracts, but Tulo’s long-term control makes him a much more appealing option. Secondly, Tulo is such a substantial upgrade over Reyes, defensively, that it instantly improves the Jays for this season and future ones. Also, who would’ve thought this was possible, but it improves the Jays ability to hit left-handed pitching, which is something they already excel at.

That’s just a few areas Tulo will help the Jays, but, ultimately, he’s just the flat-out better player.

The counter argument to all the great things Tulo brings to the table, though, is his health. Since 2007 he has only played in an average of 114 games a season. I doubt the turf in the Rogers Centre will help his cause either.

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As eye-opening as this trade is, though, it really shows Jays’ fans that AA and the organization are not only committed to going all in on this year, but also the ones following it.

Sure, they still need pitching, we all know this. But again, being able to acquire a player of Tulowitzki’s calibre not only helps the roster right now, but also for next year and future years. When you have superstars like Donaldson and Tulowitzki, you can afford to trade some of the capital in your prospect pool because franchise players like that ultimately dictate what your team does anyways.

Bottom line, no matter what team you are, having a player like Tulowitzki is game-changing. More importantly, though, this stunner of a trade shows a commitment level from the Jays that we haven’t seen in years.

With trade deadline fast approaching, something tells me they aren’t quite done yet either.

Next: Why Craig Kimbrel is a Risky Proposition for the Blue Jays

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