New York Yankees fans watched as shortstop Troy Tulowitzki crushed a leadoff home run during Monday’s Spring Training matchup. And it came against a familiar team – the one that dropped the shortstop this offseason.
New York Yankees newcomer Troy Tulowitzki didn’t take long to make a good first impression in pinstripes. It was even more satisfying for the shortstop, considering it came against his former team.
Tulowitzki punched a solo home run in his first at-bat of Spring Training off former teammate Marcus Stroman. The last time the 34-year-old hit a ball over any fence in a legitimate game was July 8 of 2017 – yes, that long ago.
Toronto released the veteran in December since he missed all of last season and a significant portion of the 2017 campaign due to multiple injuries. But Tulowitzki still officially gets paid by the Blue Jays at this time.
After the game, Tulowitzki jabbed his former team, which questioned his ability at the plate. It makes sense, as the former elite player boasted a meager .250 average and .727 OPS in essentially two full seasons in Toronto.
New York scooped up the five-time All-Star this offseason, hoping to fill the void left by Didi Gregorius, who’s currently injured. And almost no player in New York has more motivation to prove their worth than Tulowitzki.
The Yankees placed enough trust in him to give him the one-year deal. Front office administrators also said he will be the starting shortstop once the regular season begins.
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Whether that will remain the case will be determined this season. New York has plenty of depth in the infield, but the only other player that’s spent time at short in their career is Gleyber Torres.
The Yankees have Thairo Estrada waiting for his chance, but he took a major step backwards last season after suffering a gunshot wound. Thus, it seems the position is for Tulowitzki, unless Gregorius returns.
Tulowitzki hasn’t had much success in his career against American League East teams. His OPS against all division clubs combined sits below .700. Of course, small sample sizes can be deceiving.
Hence, fans need to give the 34-year-old some time to prove he can still show glimpses of his glory days. Everyone that keeps track of Spring Training should remain cautious.
However, Yankees fans likely enjoyed Tulowitzki’s revenge slam as much as he did. He is motivated to return to the bigs with a vengeance, having not played in an MLB game for a year and a half.
Maybe he will enjoy a surge at the dish and provide memorable moments during his first – possibly only – year in pinstripes.