The Toronto Blue Jays and the Colorado Rockies pulled off what is easily the biggest blockbuster trade of the 2015 season. The team essentially traded shortstops as Troy Tulowitzki heads to the Blue Jays and Jose Reyes heads to the Rockies. In addition, Latroy Hawkins goes to the Blue Jays and three prospects are going back to the Rockies to complete the trade. With two money contracts trading hands, neither club needs to include any cash to make the deal work.

How does this effect the Blue Jays?

Jose Reyes has only played in 69 games this season and has played in 144 or more games only once since 2009. He’s been a decent speed guy at the top of the order, but he has a .322 OBP this season, so obviously the Blue Jays were looking for an upgrade. If we suspend disbelief for a second, we would look at this deal as a huge win for the Blue Jays. After all, Tulowitzki is hitting .300 with 12 home runs and 53 RBI. Add that to a lineup that features Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, and Edwin Encarnacion and you are talking about the best offense in the American League. However, that ignores the obvious advantage that Tulowitzki had in Coors Field. This season, Coors Field has been playing 14 percent above the league average in terms of runs scored (according to baseball-reference.com).

The underrated portion of the deal also had reliever Latroy Hawkins going to the Blue Jays. They had been rumored to be seeking a relief arm and they finally got one in Hawkins. Hawkins might not look like much, but he did pitch half of his games in Coors Field. He is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA and 2 saves. He likely isn’t in line to be their closer, but he has experience, so it isn’t out of the question. Leagues that use holds might see an increased value for Hawkins as a reliever. The Blue Jays are sending three prospects, but they managed to upgrade the offense and the bullpen.

How does this effect the Rockies?

This is an old-fashioned salary dump for the Rockies. Latroy Hawkins was set to retire after the season, so this was an opportunity to get something for him. However, the crown jewel was their ability to deal Tulowitzky without having to pay off a portion of his salary. Tulowitzki is due 20 million a season until 2019 and then he has another couple of seasons on the deal for a lesser amount. 2021 is officially a club option with a four million buyout.

Jose Reyes is owed 22 million a season through 2018. That is more money per season, but they clear those last three seasons of Tulowitzki’s deal and acquire someone they may be able to flip this offseason. The Rockies also got three prospects from the deal. Jeff Hoffman, Miguel Castro, and Jesus Tinoco are going to the Rockies in the deal. All three are right handed pitchers that will help the Rockies prospect depth moving forward. Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com had Hoffman rated amongst the top 100 prospects. Castro already has some experience with the Blue Jays this season. Tinoco’s numbers haven’t been stellar, but he’s only 19 and has a live arm. He has consistently been more than a year youngers than the average player in his league.

What does this mean for you?

• Coors Field: 114 Hitters one year, 116 Hitters multi-year
• Rogers Centre: 95 Hitters one year, 100 Hitters multi-year

It’s easy to oversell the numbers you see above. The multi-year numbers are probably more useful when we are trying to project numbers moving forward. Tulowitzki is moving into a neutral hitting environment, but he is doing so in a lineup full of productive hitters. On the flip side, Reyes is moving into a hitter’s haven, but he may be playing with Nolan Arenado and a bunch of also-rans. So, at the end of the day, the effects on your team will be more negligible than you think. Hawkins might be a decent pick up if your league counts holds. Otherwise, it’s much ado about not that much.