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The prospects the Jays sent to Colorado in the deal are highly touted right-handed pitchers Jeff Hoffman and Miguel Castro.

Hoffman was the Jays鈥� first-round draft pick in 2014, while Castro 鈥� who signed as an international free agent in 2012 鈥� made his big-league debut earlier this season, briefly serving as the Jays鈥� closer before being returned to the minors.

A third minor-league pitcher, Jesus Tinoco, 20, is also heading to Colorado.

鈥淲e鈥檙e always focused on the short and the long-term and we felt that an acquisition like this would address both,鈥� Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos told reporters at a news conference.

鈥淲e weren鈥檛 too thrilled about trading some of our better prospects, as we did in this deal, for rentals,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not to say we鈥檙e out of the rental market . . . but it鈥檚 a rare opportunity to get better.鈥�

The deal is startling and curious for the Jays, who were thought to be targeting starting pitching prior to Friday鈥檚 non-waiver trade deadline. But in Tulowitzki they have acquired arguably the best offensive shortstop in the big leagues, further strengthening the highest-scoring lineup in the majors.

The 30-year-old is hitting .305 this year with 12 home runs, and no shortstop has hit for a higher batting average or more power since he broke into the league in 2007. He is also a two-time Gold Glove winner.

But like Reyes, Tulowitzki has battled injuries throughout his career and is owed a significant amount of money on a long-term deal. He signed a seven-year, $134-million contract extension back in 2010 that 鈥� on top of his existing deal 鈥� was supposed to keep him in Colorado through the 2020 season. Tulowitzki is owed more than $100 million over the next five seasons.

He has also garnered a reputation for being injury-prone, having averaged fewer than 120 games since his rookie season. Some of his soft-tissue injuries 鈥� strained groin and quadriceps muscles, for instance 鈥� have been attributed in part to the stress of playing in Colorado鈥檚 high altitude.

Reyes, the high-energy shortstop the Jays acquired as part of the 2012 blockbuster with the Miami Marlins, always performed offensively for 海角社区官网but was a liability in the field and struggled to stay healthy. He served admirably as lead-off hitter, but was considered among the weakest defensive shortstops in baseball and this year made several costly errors late in games.

The real cost of the deal for Toronto, however, are the prospects, primarily Hoffman, who is projected to one day be a front-of-the-rotation starter. The 22-year-old was considered a potential first overall pick in 2014 before he underwent Tommy John surgery. The Jays ended up taking him with their ninth overall pick. He was recently promoted to Double-A New Hampshire, where he has allowed just two runs in two starts.

In Hawkins, the Jays pick up a 42-year-old reliever who will be a free agent at season鈥檚 end. The right-handed former closer has a 3.63 ERA in 22.1 innings this year.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to be going to an organization that has a chance to win, and they鈥檙e showing the commitment to winning this year and for years to come,鈥� Hawkins told . 鈥淚鈥檝e got three good months left in me. Hopefully, I can help the Blue Jays get to the World Series and win the World Series. That鈥檚 a wonderful way to end my career. I can鈥檛 see a more fitting way to end it.

鈥淓verything feels good. I鈥檓 excited to go to a place where there鈥檚 humidity. I didn鈥檛 let the altitude in Colorado bother me, but I鈥檓 happy to be back at sea level. I鈥檝e seen a lot in my career, and I鈥檓 going to take full advantage of this opportunity and see where it ends up.鈥�