There are few things in sports that make you remember the feeling you had at the moment they happened, be it your favorite team’s first championship or your favorite player’s biggest moment. For those of us that follow the Colorado Rockies, one of those moments came in late July of 2015, the night the face of the franchise, Troy Tulowitzki, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
He was pulled late in a game and an odd feeling feeling swept across everyone engaged, including Tulo. Of course, we now know the trade was made that night, and in return for shipping arguably the game’s best shortstop to the Blue Jays, Colorado received Jose Reyes, Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro and Jesus Tinoco.
There were a lot of mixed feelings for Rockies fans: Did the team go as far as they could with Tulo as the leader? Had his bad attitude and “bigger than the team” ego worn out its welcome in the locker room?
In the end, no one can deny the talent and ability Tulowitzki has, but sometimes a change of scenery is what is best for all parties involved.
Fast forward to 2016 and Jose Reyes has become public enemy No. 1, and it’s well deserved. Save your “he was not found guilty” comments, because the wife is no longer being corporative tells me all I need to know. Reyes will serve a suspension through the end of May, costing him $7.1 million.
So, we know the shortstop-for-shortstop swap was a bad one for the Rockies, but they still won the trade. As far as the three pitchers that were included in the deal, they have yet to burst upon the scene. We got a small sample size from Miguel Castro, and from what I saw from the 21 year old, he has what it takes to be a staple in the rotation, whether it be as a middle reliever or as a fourth or fifth starter.
My best guess would be that Reyes will no longer be a member of the Colorado Rockies once his suspension comes to a close, but the three pitchers that came over can still prove that General Manger Jeff Bridich did the right thing.
Something else to keep in mind about the Tulo trade … For the first time in years, there is talk of a culture change inside the clubhouse, and it dates all the way back to spring training. It is no coincidence that the talk of culture change came after Tulo had taken his talents to Toronto!
Right now the Jose Reyes story is the black eye surrounding the team, but he made it possible to trade Troy Tulowitzki, which had to be done sooner or later. This team was not going to win a World Series with Tulo, so it was time for another plan — Plan B if you will.
Lets see what that Plan B looks like when Bridich moves Reyes.