The Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed reliever Jeff Hoffman from the Toronto Blue Jays roughly 30 minutes before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Hoffman wasn't cheap to acquire, as Minnesota sent Toronto three minor leaguers, including top pitching prospect Dasan Hill, in the deal.
Right-hander John Klein and infielder Dameury Pena are the other prospects the Twins dealt to the Blue Jays in the trade. While both those players have potential, Hill was the clear headliner of Toronto's return in the deal.
Hill, a southpaw, is now the Blue Jays' No. 8 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The left-hander's fastball sits in the high-90s and touches 100. He complements his heater with a low-90s sweeper, strong upper-70s curveball and solid mid-80s changeup.
It would've been nice if the Twins had kept Hill, but you need to surrender talent to acquire talent. Even if Minnesota misses the postseason this year, which seems very likely at this point, the team still has Hoffman under team control through 2027.
Ex-Twins prospect Dasan Hill describes what it was like being traded to Blue Jays in Jeff Hoffman deal
Hill, 20, opened up about what it was like to be traded in a video he posted on YouTube.
"When I got drafted, I immediately fell in love with the Twins and the entire organization and the community around it. I loved everything about it. The team, the friends, the coaches, staff and fans. I always knew that playing for a different team could be part of the journey," Hill said. "But somewhere along the way, I started to picture myself finishing my career with the team that gave me my start. I thought I knew where it was all going to go, but God was already writing the next chapter for me."
"I knew the Twins would be trying to buy this year at the deadline and trade away more prospects and get more big league names, but I didn't think it would be me. That's until I got the call," Hill said. "It was 4:30 p.m. The deadline's at 5:00, so I thought I was safe, but I guess not."
I'd highly recommend checking out the full video from Hill. He explains exactly how he learned about the deal and what it's like to make the sudden move from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Vancouver, Canada, home to Toronto's High-A affiliate.
So far, Hill has allowed eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits and six walks with 17 strikeouts over 13 1/3 innings with High-A Vancouver. Hill needs to improve his command, but with 177 strikeouts and a .217 opponent batting average over 120 1/3 career minor-league innings, the 20-year-old left-hander has the potential to be a star in the big leagues.
Add us as a preferred source on Google