San Francisco Giants Rumors: Troy Tulowitzki signing a possibility

With 2019 Winter Meetings over and plenty of offseason still to go, rumor has it the San Francisco Giants have turned their attention towards Troy Tulowitzki.

It’s been a long last year for Troy Tulowitzki. The former All-Star shortstop underwent surgery on both heels, forcing him to miss the entire 2018 season with the Toronto Blue Jays. Now healthy and ready for his triumphant return, Tulowitzki is receiving interest from the San Francisco Giants.

They aren’t the only team throwing their hat in the ring, though.

According to Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown, Tulowitzki worked out for nearly a dozen MLB teams in California on Tuesday. Some of the clubs in attendance were the Giants, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates.

"After an hour-long workout, during which he fielded grounders only at shortstop and took a handful of batting practice rounds, all to a country music soundtrack, Tulowitzki himself shrugged and offered little beyond him being pleased to be healthy again and on a baseball field."

For more on the Giants’ presence at the workout:

So how would Tulowitzki fit into the Giants lineup? Well for starters, he would have to make the switch from shortstop to second base, a move he’s already indicated he’d be willing to make. There’s just no way San Francisco has any plan of displacing Brandon Crawford or Evan Longoria in the infield.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

The upside to a potential deal is that signing Tulowitzki would be a dirt-cheap partnership for the Giants. Released by the Blue Jays with two years and $38 million left on his contract, his previous team is still on the hook for those figures. That means any team that signs the Santa Clara native would do so on a minimum contract.

It sounds ideal, but it also means essentially any team can enter the sweepstakes if they want. In a nutshell, it’ll come down to where he wants to play and which team is willing to use him the way he wants to be used.

Here’s the real kicker, though: can Tulowitzki stay healthy?

That’s really the question everyone wants answered at this moment. We all know what the five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner is capable of when he’s at the top of his game. The problem is figuring out whether the 34-year-old will ever get back to that point after missing all of last season.

Don’t get your hopes too high, despite the Giants’ apparent interest in Tulowitzki. There’s no guarantee they can offer him a starting job, which could force him to take his talents elsewhere. At the same time, don’t discount the idea if San Francisco continues to throw the kitchen sink at him.

For now, let’s file this away as something worth keeping an eye on.