Blue Jays: Troy Tulowitzki starts the season on the 60 day DL

As expected, the Blue Jays have placed Troy Tulowitzki on the 60 day disabled list to start the season, another tough blow to the shortstop’s career.

We pretty much all knew that Troy Tulowitzki was going to spend some time on the sidelines with injury, and it was more or less a given that would happen to start the season. However, now that the roster has been announced for Opening Day, we’ve officially learned that Tulo has been placed on the 60 day disabled list to open the new season.

The move could be somewhat procedural in order for the team to keep others on their 40 man roster, but it’s doubtful the Jays would have made the decision if they felt Tulo would be back long in advance of when he’ll be eligible. The reality is, he’s had a difficult time getting healthy for awhile now, as he was last seen on the field on July 28th when he suffered his latest ankle injury.

The ankle still hasn’t fully healthy, and he’s also continued to deal with bone spurs in the same foot, something Tulo estimates he’s been playing through for the last 3-5 seasons. While he’s been able to play through it in the past, that hasn’t been an option for the five time All-Star this go around, as he’s still unable to run without pain.

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The Blue Jays planned for the shaky healthy of both Tulo and Devon Travis this offseason by adding upgrades in Yangervis Solarte, Aledmys Diaz, and other depth pieces like Gift Ngoepe, Danny Espinosa and more. That doesn’t make it any less frustrating for the team, or the player though.

The assumption was that after resting and letting the healthy heal for the past nearly eight months would be more than enough, but unfortunately he still can’t run without pain, a milestone he’ll obviously need to get over before he can return to the field. When interviewed by Sportsnet on the weekend, Tulowitzki admitted that he doesn’t even know the next step at this point.

"“I wish I had some answers for you. We’re still at the drawing board in trying to figure out what is best, if that’s from stuff in the weight room as far as strengthening stuff, is that from a rest standpoint, is that from an injection standpoint, is that from whatever different thing in trying to figure out what’s best for me and what’s causing my pain.”"

While we as fans don’t know every detail of the injury recovery process, I’ll admit that I’m personally a little frustrated by this. I can understand that everyone assumed that time would heal the injuries, but I have to wonder why he just saw a new specialist on Wednesday again. Given his long history of injuries, I would have assumed they would have exhausted any resource they could a long time ago.

The announcement also has me wondering about the future of Tulowitzki’s career in general. At 33, the 5x All-Star’s body has been ravaged by injury throughout his career, and you have to wonder if there’s a point where he’ll just have to call it a day. Hopefully that point hasn’t come yet, but with each long delay of his return, the possibility becomes a little more realistic.

Next: Opening Day news and notes