Report: AL scout high on Troy Tulowitzki
Exhale everyone; Troy Tulowitzki will not hinder the Yankees from signing Manny Machado. In fact, according to Bob Nightengale, the Yankees even reached out to Machado prior to signing Tulo, to let him know about the low-risk move.
The #Yankees informed Manny Machado days ago that they were signing Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to minimum contract as a no-risk move. Tulo has played only 66 games the last 2 seasons.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 2, 2019
From all accounts, Tulo is being brought in as a low-risk, high-reward league minimum asset that can help the Yankees in a number of ways. The 34-year-old shortstop can serve as a stopgap short-term solution at shortstop until Didi Gregorius returns, a utility depth piece similar to the role Neil Walker held a season ago, or simply as an insurance policy. But what can we really make of the once upon a time superstar that hasn’t played in a year and a half? According to a report from Brendan Kuty, one American League scout had plenty of positive to say on Tulo. The anonymous scout reported to NJ Advance Media, that Tulowitzki turned the head of essentially everyone that attended his workout on December 18th in Long Beach, California. According to Kuty: "Tulowitzki was “in good shape” and “moving without restriction,” the scout said. He added that there’s “strength in his swing” and that “he was able to catch the ball cleanly and throw accurately.” During his workout, Tulowitzki fielded grounders at shortstop, threw to first base, ran in the outfield and took batting practice. In addition to looking physically up to the task, the scout also said that as a veteran, Tulowitzki would have a "positive clubhouse influence." Again, it remains to be seen just how much and in what capacity Tulowitzki can help the Yankees but the role(s) potentially in play for Tulo shouldn’t affect the big picture plans the Yankees have for this offseason. Follow me on Twitter, @JaredSaul