The Toronto Blue Jays were able to land their first big free agent yesterday, but the deal may not come without some concerns.
Jeff Hoffman was viewed as one of the best relief pitchers on the market this offseason, having put up a 2.17 ERA through 66.1 innings in 2024. The strong year was enough to earn him his first All-Star game appearance, and resulted in interest from plenty of teams.
Ultimately, it was the Blue Jays who landed the 32-year-old, signing him to a three-year, $33 million deal last night.
Based on a recent report from Robert Murray of FanSided, one of the team’s who had interest in Hoffman was the Baltimore Orioles. Murray even states that the two sides had even agreed on a three-year, $40 million deal, but it ended up falling flat over concerns regarding a physical.
“Hoffman and the Baltimore Orioles reached an agreement on a three-year, $40 million contract earlier this week, sources say,” Murray wrote. “The Orioles, however, flagged Hoffman’s physical — two sources say it was his right shoulder — and ultimately signed right-hander Andrew Kittredge to a one-year, $10 million contract.”
This is a rather troublesome report, as it puts into question whether Hoffman can sustain the high level of success he’s had in each of the past two seasons. It’s also the last thing Blue Jays fans were wanting to hear after being very excited at finally landing a quality free agent.
Ultimately, it appears as though the Blue Jays were comfortable enough with what they saw from Hoffman, as they handed him a good chunk of change. The question now becomes whether they did that because they didn’t feel his shoulder was of any concern, or if the signing came partially out of desperation to make something happen.
While this entire situation could turn out to be a nonissue, it’s something for Blue Jays fans to keep an eye on during the 2025 season.