Eleven years after the Blue Jays drafted Jeff Hoffman ninth overall, Toronto is bringing him back into the fold. Hoffman, after a strong run as a reliever in Philadelphia, signed a three-year deal with the Blue Jays. It’s big money for an arm with a starter’s pitch profile — but one who will remain in the pen.
A Look at Hoffman
Largely a starter for much of his career, Jeff Hoffman emerged as a strong reliever in 2022 with the Reds. He then moved to the Phillies and became a key piece to their team over the next two seasons. Last year, Hoffman struck out 89 over 66.1 IP, owned a 0.89 WHIP, and notched a career-high 10 saves.
Over the last two seasons, Hoffman finished 19th in total strikeouts (158) and tenth in ERA (2.28) among relievers (min. 50 IP thrown between 2023-24). The 32-year-old spent signficant time as the Phillies’ top late-inning option thanks to struggles from Jose Alvarado.
The advanced numbers (34.6% Chase, 35.3% Whiff%) were immaculate for Hoffman.
Hoffman started his MLB career as a starter in hitter-friendly Colorado, with less-than-stellar results. He owned ERAs north of 5.00 in 2017 & 2019, the latter season saw Hoffman concede 21 home runs over 70 frames.
Now, when Hoffman was a starter, his pitch profile looked significantly different. The 32-year-old used a curveball as his main breaking ball for much of his career, until 2021. He significantly increased the usage of that pitch as a Phillie, using it over 40% of the time in 2023-24.
His gyro slider is a plus offering, one with plus depth and horizontal movement. Last season, it had a 45.2% Whiff% rate on it.
Additionally, Hoffman uses a splitter, sinker, and four-seamer, giving him four pitches — enough to work in a starting role. However, his fastballs played up much better as a reliever than as a starter.
Hoffman’s mean four-seam velo jumped to as high as 97.1 MPH in 2023, way up from the 92.7 in 2018. And as for the IVB, it went from 13.7” in 2019 to 17.1” in 2024, the latter number was above the MLB average of 15.8”.
Hoffman returns to the Blue Jays organization, the team that drafted him back in 2014. The right-hander was traded a year later to Colorado in the Jose Reyes/Troy Tulowitzki trade, as Hoffman went alongside Reyes, Jesus Tinoco, and Miguel Castro.
Jeff Hoffman will sign with the Blue Jays for three years, $33MM in total, per the team.
Analysis
The Blue Jays were looking for starting pitcher help this offseason and were one of the teams reportedly in on Corbin Burnes. Burnes ultimately signed with the Diamondbacks. However, Hoffman — who was under consideration to be a starter by some teams — won’t be in the rotation come 2025.
GM Ross Atkins confirmed in the team’s press release that Hoffman will “get an opportunity to close games for us this season,” meaning he’ll be in the bullpen. Likely, the replacement for Jordan Romano, who was non-tendered by Toronto and ironically, joined the Phillies.
Hoffman’s stuff plays up better in a relief role. While Hoffman does have a four-pitch arsenal that would likely make sense for some teams to put him in the rotation, it’s no guarantee that it’ll work. Even, if Hoffman’s run as a starter in Colorado — a hitter’s haven — is ignored.
The 2024 season was proof of that. Reynaldo Lopez thrived as a starter, while Jordan Hicks‘ stuff didn’t have the same bite and was ultimately moved to the bullpen.
Toronto could have stuck with Chad Green, who pitched fine last season as the team’s closer, as their main ninth-inning guy. Green notched 17 saves for the Jays last season. But, successful teams need signficant bullpen depth. The team began a bullpen overhaul by getting Nick Sandlin in December and re-signing Yimi Garcia.
Now, add Hoffman, a pitcher with a completely different arsenal, to the mix.