Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro go to Rockies in Tulowitzki trade
Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro and Jose Reyes are three of the four players the Colorado Rockies are receiving in return for Troy Tulowitzki — a haul that has left many people disappointed so far. Looking at the return, Colorado is getting back at least two young, lively arms.
Jeff Hoffman is a 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher from East Carolina who was the No. 9 pick in the 2014 draft. He made 11 starts for high-A Dunedin this season, going 3-3 with a 3.21 ERA, and he has posted a 1.54 ERA in two starts at Double-A New Hampshire. He averaged just over 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings in college, and he has continued to miss bats in pro ball, striking out about six per nine. The 22-year-old is one of the highlights of the deal for Colorado, as he looks to be in good shape as he recovers from Tommy John surgery he underwent last year.
Miguel Castro is a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher who was signed by the Jays out of the Dominican. He posted very strong strikeout numbers in rookie ball and then all last year throughout the three levels of Single-A ball. The Jays were extremely aggressive with him this season and jumped him all the way to the majors to open the season as their closer. The 20-year-old had a handful of strong outings to start the year and then was demoted after struggling a few times in a row. After he struggled in Triple-A, Toronto sent him down to Single-A where he was lights out, encouraging them to bring him back up to Buffalo. Colorado will look to see if they can help Castro rebuild his confidence. The youngster is a fastball, slider, changeup pitcher and has averaged 96 mph on his fastball this season, according to Fangraphs.
Reyes is not as good of a player as Tulowitzki and probably just as injury prone, but he’s still an asset as long as he’s out there. The Rockies will owe him $22 million each of the next two years and $4 million in 2018 if they decide to buy him out. That’s a $48 million commitment, compared to the $98 million owed to Tulo over the next six seasons (which really could turn out to be a bargain). Colorado could also choose to flip Reyes for more prospects and complete their rebuild.
Depending on who they got back as the fourth player, I think this is a fair haul for the Rockies. They obviously know what the trade market was like based on their conversations with other teams, and they got some nice prospects in addition to a player who’s of similar ability to Tulowitzki. They could have done a lot worse, especially for a team that waited a few too many years to trade him.
Photo: Jeff Hoffman/Twitter