SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. —It was a good spring camp for Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. Tulowitzki hit for power, looked Tulo-esque with a few 360-degree spin moves at shortstop, and sprinted comfortably between first and third base during a Cactus League game last week. Surgery last August to repair the torn labrum in his left hip seemed like a hazy memory.
CarGo, 25 pounds lighter than last season, gracefully sprinted after line drives in right field and last week planted a 423-foot homer into the desert landscaping beyond the center-field wall at Salt River Fields. Save for a bit of soreness and fatigue, his surgically repaired left knee was not an issue.
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The laughs and smiles in their corner of the Rockies’ clubhouse were back. It’s their sanctuary, a place where they kick back, incessantly needle young third baseman Nolan Arenado and escape the weight of great expectations.
“I have a lot of pressure on me,” Tulowitzki said during a quiet moment recently after the clubhouse emptied. “I put it on myself, of course. Then, with my injury history, I have to answer a lot of questions. I understand that. I understand how important I am to this team, but it gets old answering those questions.”
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Sometimes the questions come like fastballs, other times like changeups. But the themes are always the same.
Can you stay healthy?
Do you think you’ll be traded?
Will you ask to be traded if the Rockies appear headed toward another 90-loss season?
Is time running out for you to win in Colorado?
Those are the overriding themes of the Rockies’ 2015 season.
Tulowitzki is making $20 million this season, Gonzalez $16 million. That’s 36 percent of the club’s estimated $100 million payroll. Four years ago, within two months of each other, they signed huge contract extensions that totaled $237.75 million. They were the Rockies’ glittering present and their promise.
But now time appears to be running out on the dynamic duo.
It’s not likely that a franchise that has struggled mightily ever since those signings, in large part because its two big stars have been hurt so often, will operate with the same game plan much longer if this season turns sour.
First-year general manager Jeff Bridich opened the doors wide to trade speculation last fall when, not long after he took over, said the Rockies’ “eyes and ears were open” to all possibilities to improve their roster.
In the winter, though, Bridich made no major moves and this spring he has emphatically stated that the Rockies, as constructed, can be a winner.
“I’m not even thinking about (trades) now,” he said recently. “It’s easy for people to speculate on that because of the things that I said six months ago. I believe in this team, and so there is no reason for me or anybody else to think any differently.”
Trade talk on back burner
Previous general manager Dan O’Dowd, who resigned, never openly entertained the idea of moving Tulo or CarGo. He also did not have much of a relationship with his two stars.
Since Bridich has taken over, he’s developed a much more open line of communication with Tulo and CarGo.
“Jeff’s communication skills have been great with me,” Tulo said. “He was talking to me and CarGo and keeping us in the loop all offseason.”
Because of the trust that has developed, Tulowitzki doesn’t think he would have to play the bad guy and publicly demand a trade should the season reach a tipping point and he wants out.
“I think you saw during the offseason how much I communicated with (owner) Dick (Monfort) and Jeff,” Tulowitzki said. “I don’t think that I would even have to come out and publicly say something. I think I can communicate with those guys and talk about the direction we are headed.”
If Tulo and CarGo both stay healthy — for a change — but the pitching staff craters — again — there might not be any other alternative than for Bridich to blow things up.
“We know that we have to win,” Gonzalez said. “This is our chance. If we continue to play like we did last year — what, 96 losses? — or the year before, I don’t think good things are going to happen.
“But I believe we can do it, and make this franchise a winner. That’s the commitment we made when we signed our contract. If it doesn’t work, you can expect changes.”
The acquisition of veteran right-hander Kyle Kendrick and the promise of right-handed prospects Jon Gray and Eddie Butler have Gonzalez expressing hope that the Rockies will be contenders in the National League West.
“Our rotation is going to dictate how good we are going to be,” CarGo said. “Kendrick is a guy who can throw a lot of innings and keep us in the game, and that’s all you can ask with our offense.
“And those two young boys (Gray and Butler), I don’t know for sure when they are going to come up, but the sooner they can come up, the better. They have a lot of talent.”
Still, if the Rockies fall out of contention by the all-star break, the trade talk will return with a vengeance, in large part because of the money the two stars are making and the potential haul the Rockies could receive in return.
“I’ll just say that there are a lot of games to play and a lot of time to pass before anything (trades) like that ever come into play,” Bridich said.
Health priority No. 1
First things first. Tulo and CarGo must stay healthy to be useful to any team, current or future. Since 2009, when Gonzalez and Tulowitzki have both been in the starting lineup, the Rockies’ record is 234-215, a winning percentage of .521. When they are both absent from the lineup, the Rockies are 57-76 (.406).
Over the past four seasons, the Rockies have averaged 93 losses, and during that time the duo has missed 393 games because of injury — 223 for Tulo, 170 for CarGo. Little wonder that Tulowitzki tries to keep a day-by-day mentality.
“I’m just concerned about staying healthy and being the best player I can be,” said Tulo, who hit .340 with 21 home runs and 52 RBIs in 91 game last year before his hip failed him. “I care about winning. and I have to be healthy to do that.
“I’ve been outspoken at times, saying I need to win and if we don’t win here, maybe another place is better for me. Those thoughts have crossed my mind. But, at the same time, I know I have to be on the field.”
Manager Walt Weiss said Tulo appears primed for a big season.
“He’s as driven as any athlete I’ve ever been around,” Weiss said. “So I think there is a bit of a chip on his shoulder; that element is already within him. I think the doubters will motivate him even more, if that’s possible.”
Gonzalez, battling a painful tumor in his left index finger, as well as his knee injury, was a shell of himself last season, hitting .238 in 70 games. He struck out 70 times in 260 at-bats.
“I know I have to put up my numbers and help this club,” he said. “I think I will.”
Gonzalez was an MVP candidate in 2010, when he won the NL batting title with a .336 average and swatted 34 home runs at age 24. Now 29, he thinks he can top that this season.
“I think I can be better,” he said. “I am more mature. In 2010 I was a young kid, swinging the bat as hard as I could. I’m not even 30; and I have a lot of years ahead of me.”
When Tulo steps onto the field at Milwaukee’s Miller Park on Monday, it will be his ninth season opener. But, he admits, this one will be different.
“I have a lot of mixed emotions for this season,” he said. “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, because there is a lot at stake. I’m trying to be even-keeled about it. I have said all along that it would mean that much more to me to win here. But where I am in my career now, at age 30, with some injuries, I know my window is getting shorter.
“But if I’m healthy, things will fall into place. I look at it like this: If you respect the game, the game will respect you. That’s what I’m counting on.”
