TAMPA — Troy Tulowitzki had teams other than the Yankees reach out to him when the Blue Jays set him free in December, but those other teams wasted their time contacting the veteran shortstop.
“There was definitely a lot of teams interested, but the Yankees were on the top of the list,’’ Tulowitzki said Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Having lost shortstop Didi Gregorius at least until June and likely longer due to Tommy John surgery on his right (throwing) elbow, the Yankees had a need at short and weren’t prepared to spend what Manny Machado was looking for.
They could have signed Freddy Galvis or Adeiny Hechavarria, each of whom offers versatility that Tulowitzki doesn’t, but they chose Tulowitzki after putting him through a rigorous workout in his native California. Galvis inked a two-year deal with the Blue Jays and Hechavarria signed a minor league contract with the Mets.
The Yankees signed Tulowitzki to a one-year deal for the major league-minimum $555,000. The Blue Jays are paying Tulowitzki $19.445 million of the $20 million he will make this year. The Blue Jays are on the hook for $14 million next year and will have to spit out a $4 million buyout in 2021.
A longtime fan of Derek Jeter, Tulowitzki, who will wear No. 12 after wearing No. 2 with Colorado and Toronto, had plenty of time to study the Yankees last year when he missed the entire season due to surgery on each heel to remove bone spurs.
“I know this is a pretty good ball club. I didn’t play last year so I watched, and they played good baseball,’’ said the 34-year-old, who hasn’t played in a big-league game since July 28, 2017.
Tulowitzki understood Gregorius would eventually return after getting hurt making a throw in last year’s ALDS against the Red Sox. But until then, the 12-year veteran Tulowitzki insisted he won’t be wondering when Gregorius will resurface and take back the shortstop job.
“I am not worried about that. I will do whatever I can to help the team win,’’ said Tulowitzki, a career .290 hitter with a .856 OPS.
He is a five-time All-Star but hasn’t played in more than 143 games since 2011.
“Didi is a great player who has come a long way since I played against him in Arizona,” Tulowitzki said.
As for the heel surgeries, Tulowitzki said the procedures Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes is having on his heels sounded similar, and he didn’t sugarcoat the road Cespedes has in front of him.
“It’s not easy coming back,’’ Tulowitzki said.
Even though the financial commitment is light, the Yankees believe Tulowitzki is sound enough to help.
“We signed a healthy player, that’s the reason we brought him in here. We did due diligence so we knew he was coming in a really good place,” Aaron Boone said. “The question now for him will be the ability to bounce back and endure the rigors of being a regular, but he looks really good moving around in the field and where he is at with his swing.’’