Troy Tulowitzki Likely Out the Rest of Season
By Bill Pivetz
The American League East division is coming right down to the wire. The New York Yankees were 6.5 games up in the middle of the summer. Then, the trade deadline happened and things flipped upside down. The Toronto Blue Jays acquired two top players, starting pitcher David Price and All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the latter will be out at least 2-3 weeks with a shoulder injury, but will likely miss the rest of the season.
Troy Tulowitzki has had a great career over 10 years. He averages 29 home runs, 100 RBI and a .296 batting average over 162 games. Those are some pretty good numbers for a shortstop.
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The Blue Jays had a good lineup entering the 2015 season with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson leading the way. The addition of a power-hitting shortstop made this lineup arguably the best in the American League. Since the break, Toronto rank No. 1 in runs scored, No. 2 in RBI, No. 2 in batting average and No. 1 on-base percentage.
Tulowitzki was removed from Game 1 of the doubleheader on Saturday with the Yankees after a collision with teammate Kevin Pillar. The X-Rays showed that Tulo there was no damage to his ribs or chest area, but there was damage to his shoulder and back area. He was later diagnosed with a small crack in his left shoulder-blade.
General Manager Alex Anthopoulos indicated Sunday that he’s “cautiously optimistic” the team could have Troy Tulowitzki back in 2-3 weeks, Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports. The words cautiously optimistic don’t give me the best feeling.
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With a 3.5 game lead over the Yankees, the Blue Jays need all hands on deck in order to keep the lead over the next month. The loss of Tulowitzki will definitelyaffect the structure of the lineup. He has been an important part of this team and a big reason the team has the division lead it does.
The Blue Jays with go with a combination of Ryan Goins, Cliff Pennington and Darwin Barney at the middle infield positions until Troy Tulowitzki returns to the lineup. Fantasy owners are already pulling the plug on Tulowitzki this season. He has been dropped in 5.3 percent of ESPN.com leagues over the last week.
If you are looking for a replacement, there are some decent options on the waiver wire. Obviously, Pennington is one of them. Also, Nick Ahmed and Shawn O’Malley are widely available. However, none of those players will be able to replace the value Troy Tulowitzki provided your lineup.