TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays took a big swing at strengthening their bullpen Friday by signing Jeff Hoffman to a $33-million, three-year contract, swooping in after the Baltimore Orioles tried to revise a previous agreement with the all-star right-hander.
As first reported by Robert Murray of FanSided, Hoffman and the Orioles reached a $40-million, three-year agreement earlier this week, but the club sought to adjust the terms due to concerns about his shoulder, according to an industry source.
The Blue Jays, who’d been engaged on Hoffman throughout the off-season, seized on the snag, ending up at $33 million plus incentives that could push the total value up to $39 million. The 32-year-old passed their physical, according to a second source.
Once Hoffman shifted his focus to the Blue Jays, the Orioles pivoted to Andrew Kittredge and late Thursday, signed the right-hander to a $10-million, one-year deal that includes an option for 2026.
The complex chain of events ended with the Blue Jays making their largest bullpen spend during Ross Atkins’ tenure as general manager, Hoffman getting a deal not too dissimilar from the one the Orioles walked away from, and a new layer of intrigue between the American League East rivals.
Another interesting dynamic — Hoffman “Will get an opportunity to close games for us,” Atkins said in a statement, replacing the departed Jordan Romano, who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, Hoffman’s former team, after the Blue Jays non-tendered the Markham, Ont., native following elbow surgery last summer.
The fallout from the above machinations and their impacts on the fates of all three clubs will be watched closely this season.
“We are excited to add Jeff to our bullpen,” Atkins added in the statement. “His arsenal, strike-throwing and ability to miss bats against all types of hitters is elite and will undoubtedly make us better.”
In reuniting with Hoffman — the Blue Jays originally selected him ninth overall out of East Carolina University in the 2014 draft — they dramatically bolster a bullpen that completely collapsed last year, finishing with the second-worst ERA in the big leagues at 4.82.
Their minus-2.5 WAR, as calculated by FanGraphs, was easily last in the majors, a whopping seven wins worse than the previous season.
To address that issue, the Blue Jays reunited with another old friend in Yimi Garcia, signing him to a $15-million, two-year deal, helping rebuild the ‘pen’s late-game leverage crew. Nick Sandlin, who came over with Andres Gimenez, gives manager John Schneider another weapon and Hoffman further fuels the reset.
There’s the full-circle element to the reunion with Hoffman, too, as the club first pounced on him in 2014 after Tommy John surgery derailed his chances of going at the very top of that draft. After recovering, he quickly moved up the ladder in 2015, reaching double-A before he was the centrepiece of the Colorado Rockies’ return for Troy Tulowitzki at the deadline.
Hoffman debuted with the Rockies in 2016 but never found his footing there, was traded to Cincinnati in 2020, and began finding himself as a reliever with the Reds before establishing himself as a bullpen force with the Phillies the past couple of seasons.
In 2024, he became an All-Star for the first time, posting a 2.17 ERA in 66.1 innings over 68 appearances for the Phillies, striking out 89 batters against a mere 16 walks.
Hoffman’s deal with the Blue Jays is the club’s largest for a reliever since B.J. Ryan’s $47-million, five-year deal in November 2005. Last winter, the Blue Jays exercised a $21-million, two-year option on Chad Green, with Garcia’s December deal being Atkins’ third-biggest commitment to a reliever.
