For right-hander Jeff Hoffman, the deal he struck Friday with the Toronto Blue Jays was a full-circle moment.
Hoffman, who signed a three-year, $33 million free-agent contract, pending a physical, was the Jays’ selection with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 draft. The total value of the agreement, according to a league source briefed on the details, could increase to $39 million through incentives.
“We are excited to add Jeff to our bullpen,” Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said in a statement. “His arsenal, strike-throwing and ability to miss bats against all types of hitters is elite and will undoubtedly make us better. Jeff will get an opportunity to close games for us this season. His track record, competitiveness and experience make him a great complement to this group. We look forward to welcoming him, his wife Marissa, and their children Tytan, Houstyn, Jetsyn and Lennyn to Toronto.”
Some members of the front office who were present for the team’s selection of Hoffman out of East Carolina are still with the club. The pitcher’s first stint with the Jays, however, did not last long. A little more than a year after the Jays drafted him, the team sent Hoffman, shortstop Jose Reyes and right-handers Miguel Castro and Jesús Tinoco to the Colorado Rockies for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and reliever LaTroy Hawkins.
Hoffman, 32, at the time was a top-100 prospect and a major piece for the Rockies in the deal. He never established himself with Colorado, and later was traded to the Cincinnati Reds and released by the Minnesota Twins. But after resurrecting his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, he became one of the more coveted relievers in this year’s free-agent market.
The Jays will continue using him out of the bullpen, though Hoffman informed teams at the start of his free-agent process that he was open to starting. His ERA in 50 career starts is 5.64, but he is a different pitcher than when he last started in 2022.
OFFICIAL: We’ve signed All-Star RHP Jeff Hoffman to a 3-year deal ⭐️
Welcome Back, @Hoff_23! pic.twitter.com/A1tN8zOGjV
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) January 11, 2025
Hoffman signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies a day after the 2023 season began and posted a 7.00 ERA in nine Triple-A innings. He had a solid offer from a Japanese team — and photos of his potential apartment there. So he triggered an opt-out clause in his Phillies deal to see if anyone else was interested.
The Phillies bit. They promoted him to the majors in May 2023. All he did was throw 118 2/3 innings with a 2.28 ERA over two seasons. Hoffman gained trust and pitched into bigger spots. He became an All-Star in 2024 despite not being a traditional closer. His 33 percent strikeout rate over the past two seasons ranks 11th among all relievers.
Hoffman ranked 24th on The Athletic’s Free Agent Big Board and second among relievers.
Last season, he held righty hitters to a .173/.242/.237 slash line. That .479 OPS ranked fourth in baseball (and third on his own team).
Hoffman simplified his arsenal and his thinking to grow into an effective high-leverage reliever. His fastball sat 94 mph as a starter. Even in 2022, when he pitched as a middle reliever for the Cincinnati Reds, he did not see an uptick. But entering 2023 while in camp with the Minnesota Twins, Hoffman threw harder. His fastball averaged 97 mph. He deployed a harder slider.
He took to the bullpen life with an attitude that matched the high-adrenaline situations.
But there were some cracks in the biggest moments. Hoffman, who pitched five of the seven games against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 National League Championship Series and did not allow an earned run, hung a slider in Game 7 that scored a pivotal inherited runner. The New York Mets torched him in this year’s National League Division Series. Hoffman permitted six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings over three appearances.
Those stumbles might have prompted some pause, but Hoffman’s overall performance merited what’s likely to be one of the larger free-agent reliever contracts this winter — back with the team that first was intrigued by him almost 11 years ago.
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(Photo: Jess Rapfogel / Getty Images)
