Phillies Sign Jeff Hoffman To Minor League Contract

Right-hander Jeff Hoffman has signed a minor league contract with the Phillies, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Phillies have added him to their Triple-A roster. According to Heyman, Hoffman will make $1.3MM in the majors and has opt-outs available to him on May 1 and July 1.

Hoffman, the 9th overall pick of the 2014 draft, began his career as a member of the Blue Jays before being traded to the Rockies as part of the Troy Tulowitzki trade. He made his major league debut with the Rockies in 2016, but struggled to a 4.88 ERA and 6.27 FIP in 31 1/3 innings. Though he continued to see playing time in a swing role over the next four seasons, Hoffman never found his footing in Colorado, ending his time with the Rockies with a 5.68 ERA and 5.34 FIP in 230 2/3 innings. The right-hander was then traded to the Reds ahead of the 2021 season in exchange for reliever Robert Stephenson.

In Cincinnati, Hoffman’s career began to turn around. His well below average 18.8% strikeout rate with Colorado climbed to 23.3% with the Reds, though his walk rate also rose to a worrisome 12.8%. Still, in 117 2/3 innings of work with the Reds from 2021-2022, Hoffman posted a 4.28 ERA and 4.86 FIP, good for a 108 ERA+. His best performance came in last season, when the Reds began to use him almost exclusively as a reliever. In 2022, Hoffman posted the first sub-4.00 ERA of his career, with his 3.83 figure standing as 17% better than league average by ERA+.

Hoffman signed with the Twins earlier this offseason, though the club later granted him his release just before Opening Day when it became clear he would not make the club’s roster to start the season. That led Hoffman to Philadelphia, where he figures to serve as depth for the starting rotation with Ranger Suarez, Andrew Painter, Nick Nelson, and Cristopher Sanchez all opening the season on the injured list. With Matt Strahm having stepped into the rotation from the bullpen to fill the vacancy left by Suarez, Hoffman or left-hander Michael Plassmeyer figures to be the next man up should the Phillies suffer another rotation injury.