Blue Jays swoop for Tulowitzki

“It’s demoralizing for sure”, said Tulo fan Julie Sutton.

During the Tulo Era, from 2006 to Monday, the Rockies have been 734-822.

After Tulowitzki was dealt, speculation shifted to OF Carlos Gonzalez, who said before Tuesday’s game he wouldn’t allow the rumors to get to him.

Despite outscoring their opponents by an AL-best 95 runs on the season, Toronto is seven games behind the streaking Yankees in the AL East. Three years later he finished sixth in the MVP voting after hitting.304/.357/.601 with 47 home runs and 150 RBIs and then followed that by hitting.318/.389/.585 with 41 home runs and 140 RBIs at age 36-all in Colorado. Left fielder Alex Gordon is likely sidelined until at least late September after the All-Star strained his groin tracking a fly ball just before the break.

The contract also includes a clause that guarantees a $2 million bonus if he gets traded and automatically activates a no-trade clause.

The Blue Jays and Rockies first laid the groundwork for their swap of shortstops with offseason discussions, but the trade “didn’t didn’t get off the ground”, Anthopoulos said. That might sound a bit simplistic, but work with me. Toronto needs pitching, not more hitting. I wouldn’t expect much of a drop in numbers. The top of the rotation is Kyle Kendrick. He has a 4-25 record in 54 games, but is still only 20. That ain’t good. Along with Reyes, the Rockies picked up rookie reliever Miguel Castro and two minor-league pitchers in a blockbuster transaction — the biggest yet in the days leading up to Fridays trade deadline.

Brooks had a 6.23 ERA over two appearances for the Royals and 4 1-3 innings. For most of his career, Tulowitzki was considered by the vast majority of scouts and executives around the league to be a once-in-a-generation type of talent, and the ideal player to build a franchise around.

Jesus Tinoco is all of 20. Toronto still maintains payroll flexibility into 2016, but Bautista and Encarnacion are both free agents after 2016. Yeah, he’s a shot in the dark, but this is what the Rockies have to do. It’s a start.

Looking at the package the Blue Jays sent to the Rockies, a potential equivalent from the Mets might have been Zack Wheeler, Michael Fulmer, and Gabriel Ynoa, with the Rockies eating a large chunk of money (as they’re doing by taking on Reyes). Good point, people. Please also remember that the Rockies took shortstop Brendan Rodgers with the third pick in June’s draft. It also didn’t help matters that there was public knowledge of a gentleman’s agreement between team owner Dick Monfort and his star shortstop that Monfort would come to Tulowitzki before going through with any kind of trade, something that didn’t happen on Monday night. Reyes could make his Rockies debut Wednesday in the series finale. (We’ll get to the Rockies side at the end.). Because of the first suspension, he would have been ineligible for the postseason, if the Mets make it that far. Jacob DeGrom or Matt Harvey is a pipedream, but Noah Syndergaard and/or Zach Wheeler aren’t. Los Angeles has struggled mightily at the position since the trade of Josh Hamilton to the Rangers in April.

In short: the Blue Jays need pitching, they don’t need another bat. As long as there are pitching prospects in the offing, this deal will be done. Just like Tulo, he’s been healthy. He is making $20 million this year, the same amount he is owed each year through 2019. “It’s different when you’re waiting, you’ve heard (something) and you prepare your mind”.

He is, however, injury prone, and the artificial turf at Rogers Centre could prove harder on Tulowitzki than Coors Field’s thin air.