Jeff Hoffman Traded to Rockies in Blockbuster

Late last night, around midnight, the Blue Jays and Rockies pulled off a mega deal out of nowhere.

The main portion of the trade sends shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Rockies to the Blue Jays while shortstop Jose Reyes heads from Toronto to Colorado.

Also heading to Colorado? Pitchers Miguel Castro and Shaker graduate Jeff Hoffman.

Hoffman, the No. 9 overall pick in the draft in 2014, is a key piece in the deal. My sources indicated last week that the Blue Jays valued Hoffman highly and thought they could acquire the pieces they wanted without having to part with one of the top young arms in all of baseball.

Apparently not.

How good can Hoffman be?

High praise right there. Remember, we have followed Hoffman's minor league tenure thoroughly this season.

He's 3-3 with a 2.93 across two levels this year. We have spoken a number of times to Marshall Kelner, broadcaster for the Dunedin Blue Jays (High-A), who called most of Hoffman's starts this season.

We'll see where the Rockies place Hoffman, but it's a great haul for a team who is trying to rebuild.

This gives the Rockies two Capital Region products in Hoffman and fellow Shaker grad Tommy Kahnle, who is on the major league roster.