Jays Eye View - The Tulo Trade

The Blue Jays are only 3 games back in the Wild Card race and on Monday they made a big push to help them catch the Twins. Toronto acquired the sure-handed and solid hitting shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies, the team that scouted, drafted, and signed Tulo. Here are the details. The Blue Jays will receive Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins, a 42 year old reliever, and the Rockies, in return, will gain Jose Reyes and three pitching prospects including Miguel Castro. Here's what the Jays are getting. Tulo is a lifetime .299 hitter, and during 87 games this year he's hitting .300 with 12 homeruns and 53 RBI's.

Let's Talk Money

The 30 year old shortstop is still owed $113.7 million through 2020. But he will also be receiving a $2 million assignment bonus.

Injury prone?

The biggest question during this trade is can the 2-time Gold Glove winner stay healthy? Around this time last year, Tulo injured his left hip and underwent labral repair surgery that forced him to miss the rest of the 2014 season. The Blue Jays can't focus too much on this aspect of the trade for a couple of reasons. First of all Tulowitzki is arguably the best shortstop in the game and if you've got the chance for a player of that caliber to be on your team then you've got to take that shot. Secondly, Jose Reyes was also a victim of the injury bug. Over the past three seasons Reyes played 305 games and Tulo played 304. One this to look out for in the future for Tulo is that he's going to have to make the transition to playing on turf instead of grass, making a trip to the disabled list a tad for likely.

Which team won this trade?

As for teams, they both won. The Blue Jays solidified their lineup without having to give too many prospects and the Rockies were able to get a shortstop that could still help their team succeed in the future and 3 RHP prospects. But, the real winner of this trade was Troy Tulowitzki. He goes from a team that was last in the league to a team that's in the middle of a playoff race. Furthermore, being in a lineup that included Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion will lift a heavy load off of his back and let him relax while hitting. In addition to all of that, he's signed through 2020 and will have a no trade clause added to his deal with the Jays. Look for the Jays to make a run and you can bet that they'll be in the playoffs this year.

Last Minute Notes

The Blue Jays' only need now are pitchers. Their lineup is one of the best in baseball and that will get them to the playoffs, but if they want to make it to, and win, the World Series then they'll need a solid ace.

Many people are saying that the Blue Jays will turn around and trade Tulowitzki after getting him, but many insiders have shut that idea down saying there's a "zero percent" chance of that happening.