The Yankees signed Troy Tulowitzki on Jan. 4 and viewed him as a low-risk, high-reward option to provide the team with some infield depth. But less than seven months later, the 34-year-old announced he was retiring from baseball, playing just five games in a Yankee uniform.

On a conference call Monday, Tulowitzki discussed what helped him make up his mind.

"There came a point in time this year after I strained my calf, it just wasn't as enjoyable as it once was because I couldn't do some of the things work-wise that I had done before," Tulowitzki said. "I started thinking to myself, I have a son who's 5 years old and want to be a part of what's going on in his life and be there for him as a father. Everything just started lining up and I decided to make a decision."

Tulowitzki was fantastic in his 10 seasons with the Rockies, playing in five All-Star Games and finishing as high as fifth in MVP voting, which he did twice.

But following his trade to the Blue Jays in in 2015, Tulowitzki battled though injury after injury and could not replicate the success he had in Colorado. After playing in 131 games for the Blue Jays in 2016, he appeared in just 71 games since the start of the 2017 season, missing all of 2018 after surgeries to repair bone spurs in both heels.

"I think I gave it everything I got," he said. "My body was just kind of going south on me."

Following a 13-year MLB career, Tulowitzki isn't ready to leave the game entirely just yet and will join the University of Texas as a volunteer assistant coach.

"I'm just looking forward to teaching the kids what I've learned on and off the field and turning them into not just good baseball players, but good people in general that do things the right way."

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