Troy Tulowitski...

[Bobster21]

Tulo was always a long shot for the Pirates. His primary concern was how much he would play because of his age, injury history, and the perception that his SS days might be over. He had even acknowledged that by stating he would play 2B or 3B if needed. Money is not an issue for any team that signed him because they pay only the minimum but they also have to consider that there's a good chance Tulo's health might not hold up and a Plan B (which could involve a significant expense) would have to be in place. The Pirates' best shot was that they could offer him the SS position and already had Newman and Gonzalez in case Tulo didn't hold up. A legit contender would not find Newman and Gonzalez to be an adequate Plan B but it's adequate for the low budget, semi-competitive (at best) Pirates.



But the Yankees need a SS for half a season until Gregorius returns from TJ surgery around the all-star break. So they don't need Tulo to hold up at SS an entire season. After that, Tulo could move to 3B if NY moves Miguel Andujar to 1B of OF. Or Tulo could see time at 2B, 3B and SS. Tulo, who has rarely made it thru an entire season, has to realize that by the 2nd half of the season a utility role might best suit him but at least has the chance to play SS regularly for half a season (if able) and to get in a WS for the 1st time since 2007. NY is still in the running for Machado so money is no object if they have to replace Tulo in the event his health doesn't even hold up until Gregorius returns. I think Tulo would have considered the Pirates as a last resort but this is a better opportunity for him.

[fjk090852-7]

Now that Tulowitski has signed I hope the Pirates continue to pursue a shortstop. I don’t believe any of the free agent shortstops besides Mercer have agreed to contracts. My guess is that the Pirates don’t want to sign someone for more than 1 year since Tucker should join the club in 2020 and they probably still hope that Newman will become the player they projected whenever they drafted him #1.

[BucsFaninGA]

Will be interesting to see what the Bucs do about the hole at SS now that Tulo has signed with the Yankees...

[OrlandoMerced]

I didn't know that Gregorious was out half the year. That moves makes sense on multiple levels for Tulowitzki. Better lineup, hitter friendly home field, opportunity to DH.

[notes34]

5661776752757A7D7A5355140 wrote: Will be interesting to see what the Bucs do about the hole at SS now that Tulo has signed with the Yankees...
I think Newman gets handed the job.

[mouse]

Apparently there are still over 200 free agents who haven't signed yet. I suspect we were more excited about Tulo signing with Bucs than NH. I suspect he understood the situation. I'm looking for them to add someone once the main herd signs - again, over two hundred to go, so sometime very late January or into February.

[TBird]

IMO it tells a lot if a former player that Hurdle coached refuses to sign to be reunited with him

[Bobster21]

73654E5543270 wrote: IMO it tells a lot if a former player that Hurdle coached refuses to sign to be reunited with him
I don't like Hurdle as a manager. But you can't seriously think that the reason Tulo signed with a WS contender like the Yankees instead of the Pirates is because he refused to play for Hurdle. Plain & simple. That's the reason. Any other manager and Tulo would be falling all over himself to be a Pirate. Good grief. ::)

[fjk090852-7]

5A777A6B6C7D6A2A29180 wrote: IMO it tells a lot if a former player that Hurdle coached refuses to sign to be reunited with him
I don't like Hurdle as a manager. But you can't seriously think that the reason Tulo signed with a WS contender like the Yankees instead of the Pirates is because he refused to play for Hurdle. Plain & simple. That's the reason. Any other manager and Tulo would be falling all over himself to be a Pirate. Good grief.  ::)


I read that Tulo also received a no trade clause in his contract with the Yankees. Possibly the Pirates were not willing to offer that since Tucker and possibly Newman are on the horizon.

[SammyKhalifa]

My question is if he is good enough to play for the Yankees how wasn't he good enough to play for the Blue Jays.



I am no expert on the state of the Toronto Org; but I'm sure they aren't so crushed for roster space that they couldn't find room on the bench for him, even if they have someone they want to look at as a starter.  So either he doesn't recover and they cut him later (eating the salary but they are now anyhow), or he does well and they either deal him down the road to get some of that money off the books or keep him for a run. Instead they're paying him to play for a team that is at least in theory a division rival.