Colorado Rockies: Did They Win or Lose the Troy Tulowitzki Trade?

Just two seasons ago, the Colorado Rockies made a blockbuster deal that sent one of the best and most iconic players in franchise history to the Toronto Blue Jays. At the time, Colorado seemed to have received plenty of prospects for the future … but is that really the case?

On that July day in 2015, Troy Tulowitzki (along with LaTroy Hawkins) was sent to the Jays for Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman, and Jesus Tinoco. It was definitely the biggest trade deadline move in all of baseball that year, and looked much in the Blue Jays’ favor. However, almost two years have now been removed from the Tulowitzki trade. The once prospects are now beginning to show life.

With the DFA of Castro over the weekend and Hoffman starting the season in Triple-A, it’s a good time to examine the trade. So did Colorado win or lose the big deal? Let’s take a look.

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The Blue Jays can still prove they won the deal, but the time to do so is expiring.

Toronto made this move to accomplish one thing: Complete an offense that can contend for a title that same year and many years after. On paper, the trade did just that. The Jays have gotten to the ALCS in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and are one of the top 5 teams to make another run again this year. They have been in the final four teams standing both years with Tulowitzki, and many believe they still have an opportunity to win a World Series. However, you have to dig deeper than that.

Troy Tulowitzki is a very beloved player in the Colorado Rockies’ fanbase. However, he has not played as well away from Coors Field. His batting average plummeted from .340 in 2014 to .254 in 2016. He did, however, keep his home run total around the same, from 21 in 2014 to 24 in 2016. At age 31, he has seen 20 postseason games in a Blue Jays uniform, in which he has only hit three home runs. He just has not had the same production in the playoffs.

You can argue Tulo has been a liability on offense in the postseason, even when he has maintained solid numbers in the regular season.