Former Long Beach State Dirtbag Troy Tulowitzki has been working out at Blair Field recently while trying to garner attention from Major League Baseball clubs looking for a veteran shortstop with something left in the tank.
It worked.
This week, the New York Yankees inked Tulowitzki to a one-year contract after he was released by the Toronto Blue Jays in December. The Yankees will pay the majority of the $20 million left on that contract, plus the league-minimum $555,000. He is already tabbed to be the starting shortstop on Opening Day while Didi Gregorius recovers from Tommy John surgery.
Tulowitzki, 34, is a five-time All-Star shortstop who hasn’t played a MLB game since July 2017 because of injuries. He said at Blair Field last month that he physically feels the best he has in years.
Tulowitzki was an All-American at LBSU as a junior. He hit .310 as a Dirtbag with 20 home runs. He was selected by by Colorado Rockies with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 MLB draft, and the Rockies resigned him to a $157.75 million 10-year contract in 2010.
After helping Colorado reach the World Series, Tulowitzki was traded in July 2015 to the Toronto Blue Jays for shortstop Jose Reyes. He helped the Blue Jays reach the American League Championship Series that year, but slumped in 2016 and was again hampered by injuries.
Tulowitzki was induced into the LBSU Hall Of Fame in 2013, and his generous donation built the new batting cages at Blair Field— where current Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks played his high school baseball with Wilson High.
– In other news, the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed former Dirtbag outfielder Shane Peterson to a minor-league deal with an invitation to MLB spring training. Peterson, 30, has played with the Oakland A’s, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays since making his MLB debut in 2013.
– Two other former Dirtbags also made news this month by being named to the MLB.com “30 fastest prospects” list. Jarren Duran (Red Sox, Class A) and Garrett Hampson (Rockies, AAA) played in the same LBSU infield together, and are two of the quickest minor leaguers for the upcoming season.
According to MLB.com Duran is, “A plus-plus runner who flashes some top-of-the-scale times to first base, Duran had a spectacular pro debut after signing as a seventh-rounder out of Long Beach State in June. He hit .357/.396/.516 with 24 steals (albeit getting caught 10 times) in 67 games while advancing to low Class A.”
According to MLB.com Hampson is, “A 2016 third-rounder who has double-plus speed and has used it to bat .315 with 237 runs and 123 steals in 305 Minor League games. He made his MLB debut last season.”
