Bleacher Bums Forum

On Tulo, it's been argued that he'd not have opportunity to start for the Cubs.  I don't think that's true, apart from merit.

The Cubs have only Baez as a starting middle-infielder.  If Tulo was worth starting, he could hypothetically win the other spot.  Obviously Baez and Russell are better than Tulo defensively, whether at 2B or SS.  But a Baez/Tulo combo, in either configuration, might be as good or better defensively than anything short of Baez/Russell. 

The larger question is merit.  Sure, Tulo hypothetically *could* win a starting job... *IF* he was healthy and *IF* he could hit.  But in his last four seasons at Toronto, he's been no-play in 18, and OPS/OPS+ of .678/80; .761/102; and .697/89 the previous three seasons.  So hitting-wise, he's been about as useless as Russell and Hayward.     

Tulowitzky played in only one full season in Toronto. His first season was 2015 (183 AB), after being blind-sided and deeply upset by the trade from the Rockies.  His only full season was following year, 2016, when he had an OPS of .761.  He was injured in 2017 and played in only 66 games.  I'm guessing his performance may have been related to his injury. His last full season before the trade (2014), he had an OPS of 1.035, and his OPS in 2015 before the trade was .818.  Who knows what kind of player he'd be in 2019 and beyond, but I don't think his performance with the Blue Jays should necessarily preclude the potential for him to perform well going forward.