The Blue Jays made a significant bullpen upgrade on Friday evening, announcing a three-year deal with Jeff Hoffman that guarantees $33MM. The CAA client reportedly receives a $5MM signing bonus and can earn another $6MM in incentives. He’d unlock $500K for reaching each of 60, 70, 80 and 90 innings pitched in all three seasons. He’ll make a $6MM salary next season followed by $11MM annually from 2026-27.
General manager Ross Atkins said in a statement that Hoffman “will get an opportunity to close games for us” (relayed by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). That suggests they’re planning to keep the right-hander in the late innings. Hoffman had reportedly drawn interest from teams as a starting pitcher.
Hoffman, who turned 32 on Wednesday, returns to the organization that drafted him more than a decade ago. The righty was Toronto’s first-round pick (ninth overall) out of East Carolina in 2014. He was a high-profile starting pitching prospect who landed among Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects in each of his first three professional seasons. Hoffman didn’t spend long in the Toronto system. One year after the draft, the Jays dealt him to the Rockies as part of the return in the Troy Tulowitzki deadline blockbuster.
The early portion of Hoffman’s major league career was a struggle. Like many young pitchers, he had a tough time at Coors Field. Hoffman had an earned run average north of 6.00 over parts of five seasons with the Rox. Colorado swapped him to the Reds for Robert Stephenson in advance of the 2021 season. Stephenson and Hoffman were each former top prospects whose careers would take off after a move to the bullpen.
For Hoffman, that didn’t materialize right away. He had a pair of decent but unspectacular seasons in Cincinnati, combining for a 4.28 ERA over 66 appearances. He signed with the Phillies on a minor league deal coming out of Spring Training in 2023. Hoffman had the best two seasons of his career in Philadelphia. He made the big league roster in early May of the first season and turned in 52 1/3 innings of 2.41 ERA ball.
That performance made him a key piece of Rob Thomson’s leverage group heading into 2024. Hoffman posted even better numbers during his second season at Citizens Bank Park. He worked 66 1/3 innings with a 2.17 ERA while striking out more than a third of opposing hitters. Over his tenure with the Phils, Hoffman turned in a 2.28 earned run average with a 33.4% strikeout percentage. He kept his walks to a modest 7.4% clip and held opponents to a .180/.249/.295 slash in 473 plate appearances.
Of the 97 relievers who have logged 100+ innings over the past two seasons, only five (Emmanuel Clase, Tanner Scott, Ryan Helsley, Kirby Yates and Tyler Holton) have a lower ERA. Hoffman also ranks sixth in strikeout rate, trailing Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader, Fernando Cruz, Kirby Yates, and A.J. Puk. He is in the top 10 in swinging strike percentage. The 6’5″ hurler has the stuff to match those results. His fastball sits around 97 MPH on average. Hoffman mixes four pitches and has overpowered hitters with both the heater and his upper-80s slider.
That production earned him a contract commensurate with what most top setup arms have made in recent offseasons. It’s an exact match for what Stephenson, last winter’s breakout free agent reliever, earned from the Angels. Joe Jiménez, Reynaldo López, Rafael Montero, Taylor Rogers and Clay Holmes all landed three-year deals that guaranteed between $26MM and $38MM. Jordan Hicks signed for $11MM annually but was able to secure a fourth year from the Giants as he entered his age-27 season.
MLBTR ranked Hoffman as the #2 free agent reliever behind Scott. We predicted a four-year, $44MM deal. While the AAV was accurate, teams evidently were unwilling to go to four years at that salary for what would be his age 32-35 seasons. Hoffman was reportedly hoping to land a deal similar to the three years and $38MM that Holmes received from the Mets. He comes up a little bit shy of that, at least in part because New York is going to give Holmes an opportunity to move to the rotation.
Robert Murray of FanSided reported this evening that Hoffman had been set to sign with the Orioles on a three-year, $40MM contract before Baltimore took issue with his throwing shoulder during the physical examination. Teams have different standards for the injury risk that they’re willing to tolerate. Baltimore has a reputation for being particularly attentive to the physical. Hoffman has not spent any time on the injured list over the last two years. He missed a good portion of the second half of 2022 because of a forearm issue. He did miss around two months due to a shoulder impingement early in the ’21 season as a member of the Reds.
The signing is perhaps some evidence of a thaw in what has been a slow-moving reliever market. It’s the second straight day in which one of the top bullpen arms has come off the board, as Baltimore agreed to a $10MM deal with Andrew Kittredge last night (after pulling out of the agreement with Hoffman). Scott remains unsigned and should land the most significant reliever contract of the offseason by a decent margin. Carlos Estévez, Yates and David Robertson are among the next group of back-end arms.
It’s Toronto’s biggest free agent move of the offseason. Their only previous signing had been a two-year, $15MM deal to bring Yimi García back to the organization. They also took on nearly $100MM and acquired middle reliever Nick Sandlin in the Andrés Giménez trade. The Jays had the worst bullpen in the American League last season. They non-tendered Jordan Romano after an injury-plagued season for their former All-Star closer. (Romano signed with Philadelphia as a key replacement for Hoffman.) The trio of new bullpen pickups join holdovers Erik Swanson and Chad Green as potential late-inning options for John Schneider.
According to RosterResource, Toronto’s luxury tax number is up to roughly $239MM. That puts them within a few million of the $241MM base threshold. The Jays narrowly dipped below the CBT line last season. They’d need to be willing to exceed that marker if they’re going to make a notable offensive upgrade beyond Giménez. The outfield is the biggest issue on paper, while the Jays could also look to solidify a third base position that currently features a handful of young, unproven infielders.
Jon Morosi of the MLB Network first reported that the Jays and Hoffman were discussing a multi-year deal. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported the $6MM in bonuses, which Kiley McDaniel of ESPN specified. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the signing bonus, while The Associated Press had the salary structure.
Image courtesy of Imagn.
That’s a pretty reasonable deal. Hoyer dropping the ball and dumpster diving…
Acoss – Agreed, this is a great move by the Jays and it addresses their biggest need.
Lol the Jay’s biggest need is offense. I’m A Jay’s fan our offense was terrible and we traded away one of the only guys who hit last year.
Why – LOL the Jays finished next to last in MLB for relievers with a 4.82 ERA, only Colorado’s 5.41 Reliever ERA was higher.
Toronto’s offense was 23rd in MLB, not very good but still better than Pittsburgh, Washington, Oakland, Miami, Angels, Rays and ChiSox.
LOL!
You clearly never watched the games then.
Why – I watched some of the games. The common refrain from all the announcers and analysts etc was “if you can get into the Jays pen, you’ve got a good chance of winning”.
Not once did they say “If you score two runs against them, you’ll win because their offense sucks”.
And you seemingly don’t know this, but one of their best hitters – a guy named Bo – was injured for most of the season. So the team offense will automatically be better this year with him healthy.
They traded away their second best hitter last year and ikf who with us provided offense but yeah keep digging.
Why – Are you actually saying Turner is a better hitter than either Vladdy or Bo?
Whelp ….. I will leave you alone now, let you get some rest. Naps are good for you.
Turner I never said Turner smh get help
Why – Then enlighten us, who was their second best hitter they traded away. If you say Jansen I will laugh hysterically.
Spencer Horwitz was one of their better hitters and was traded so I assumed that’s who was meant. Traded because of his defensive limitations and lack of confidence that a 26 year old rookie without a prospect pedigree was anything but a fluke (but that said, I think it was a bad trade for a variety of reasons of which he’s a small one).
smuz – I’m aware of him.
Do YOU believe he’s a better hitter than either Bo or Vlad?
I believe he was a far better hitter than Bo last year. I sure hope that same isn’t true in 2025.
My thoughts exactly. Jed has pissed that $11M away and then some on guys like Boyd, Theilbar, Festa, and now Rea.
Jed Hoyer sleeping through the wake up alarm.
Ya I can’t believe they actually singed him. It’s weird as a jays fan bringing Hoffman back when he was the centre piece going back in the Tulo trade. I really like the move for the jays and hope they can add another 2 arms to the pen 1 good lefty and another decent righty would actually give them a good pen. With Hoffman, Greene, Garcia, Sandlin and most likely Rodriguez say David Robertson and AJ Minter added to that mix would look pretty darn good for a team that had a bottom of the league pen last year.
u had to add Sandlin in that comment? good grief
Well he’s gonna be penciled into the opening day roster whether you like it or not
What’s your issue with Sandlin? He’s an adequate middle relief guy.
Feels like a rando comment by Skell. His stats look like at least an average+ RP with 3 years of arb left. And I know that W/L doesn’t mean all that much, but without Sandlin’s 8-0,…
bigdaddyt: It won’t matter. The Jays aren’t finishing higher than fourth in the AL East.
*3rd
At least they finally signed somebody. Way to go!
bigdaddyt: Don’t bet on it. The Rays and or the Red Sox could easily beat them out.
I’ll be surprised if they add those arms. A bat is still their greatest need and they’re up against the luxury tax. I’m betting on Santander for 20M AAV…. 3 or 4 years with some kind of option.
A Bassitt trade – followed by a $3-5m signing of a No 5 pitcher off the discount pile won’t be enuf to keep them under the tax line should they get Santander. He’d of signed already if he was interested— barring a big play or feeling in Jays FO that they have a shot Sasaki…
There are no $3-5m starting pitcher free agent signings — only dice rolls on guys who are hurt or AAA quality. A legit #5 starting pitcher who can be relied on for innings and an ERA below 5 is going to cost ~$12m+/yr. Bassitt is a solid #4, and not really overpaid for that in today’s market, so just keep him.
They don’t hoyer dumpster diving Jed for nothing
They certainly don’t hoyer
It is nice to see that the Blue Jays finally got to sign one of the many many many players that they had an interest in.
they didn’t have interest. they mistakenly thought it was Dustin Hoffman.
that stings
Yep. Only $11m per, although his asking price a month ago may have been much higher . . .
I was prepared for this. Phillies are likely aiming to reset the penalties next year, so they’re aiming for 1-year-deals. Hoffman is out of that range. Sad to see him go. He’s a stud.
Agree fully.
He was a stud in the regular season not in the post season when it counted
Short series after a lot of time off. I don’t really see it as a problem. Playoffs are flukey.
I have been saying this on my Phillies forum, and folks do not want to hear it. But not only has it been foreshadowed by the organization in a mild way, the numbers show that next year is the time to duck back under if things go well (get a few youngsters to perform and take up the slack) while the expiring contracts start to roll and the Casty and Taj deals become far easier to unload.
I cannot blame the Phils for resetting things if possible. Middleton has spent so much more than we would have thought only a few years ago, and is committed to being a terrific owner. As long as he is there I can see him straddling that line and keeping the payroll high to fill in whatever gaps are required.
The Dodgers had a reset year a few years back. It’s something all big spenders have to do from time to time.
The problem with the timing is wheeler Harper schwarber aren’t the youngest players anymore
I’m not saying it wasn’t a good off-season to take this approach, but this current group is running out of time imo
I had the same thought. Particularly the Wheeler extension. Time is of the essence. I think – they took a legitimate shot at moving some salary earlier in the off-season, e.g. Ranger, Bohm, Castellanos, Alvarado, and when that failed to materialize they shifted focus to reducing their luxury tax position in 2026.
I think inevitably they need to get below the 2nd surcharge at $281 million. That means one-year deals for 2025. It also implies, if they tried and failed to move money earlier in the offseason, and if they are therefore committed to exceeding the $301M threshold anyway, then they also might be in the market for another 1-year deal for 2025. I wouldn’t be completely shocked then to see them sign someone like Yates or even a return of Carlos Estevez on a 1-year deal.
The purpose of a reset below the tax line is to extend the “window”, that all-important window that far too many talk about but don’t really have a clue about how it works.
For a team that is willing to spend to the levels that the Phils do, said window can extend indefinitely. As big contracts come off the books they can fill the gaps with that available payroll. As players age out they are replaced. None of it works if your farm system has been fallow however, and the Phils are at the point where they have reconstituted the talent and development side and hopefully it pays off this year and beyond. If it does, then they can compete year after year.
Nola, Harper and Trea are here for years to come, with Wheeler for three more. Other than that, there will be a ton of movement.
The Phillies cannot get below the luxury tax threshold in the near term. The threshold is $241M for 2025 and $244M for 2026. The Wheeler contract all but assured the Phillies are not pursuing a reset. What is within their reach is to get below the harshest surcharge thresholds. The Phillies are currently more than $40M over the 60M / 60% surcharge level which is the final and harshest threshold to cross, and when coupled with the consecutive year tax, equates to a dollar for dollar tax above $301M. That’s brutal. The Phillies will not get below $301M this year but they will in 2026. What they really need to do is to get below $284M for 2026, which is doable given the money coming off the books at the end of this season.
Yup. If you are spending $300M, it is the equivalent of 15 $20M players. That’s 9 position players, a 5-man rotation, and a closer. That should never require a rebuild.
A reset doesn’t mean you take the foot off the gas. The Phillies aren’t wasting a year of their aging core. They just aren’t going to give out any longterm deals this year.
Like I said, the Dodgers do this every 4 years or so, and they still win.
Not a rebuild. A reset. The huge spenders do this often. The Dodgers are the model to look at.
VPH – the luxury tax threshold is set at $241M for 2025 and $244M for 2026. Even with significant money coming off the books end of this season, the Phillies will not be capable of getting below $244M in 2026. The consecutive year tax is baked in for the life of Wheeler’s contract, at minimum. Even if you do not replace Schwarber, and Alvarado, and Ranger, and Realmuto, you still can’t get below $244M in 2026. The next opportunity for a full reset will be after Wheeler’s contract expires. Until then, best the Phillies can do is to get under the harshest spending thresholds.
The consecutive year tax ensures the Phillies will pay 50% on all overages through end of Wheeler’s contract. The Phillies are also paying maximum surcharges due to exceeding the $60M above luxury tax threshold which carries a 60% surcharge. For 2026, the LT is $244M, so anything above $304M will carry a 110% tax. It is impossible to operate at that level. If unable to get under the LT, the next best thing is to reduce the surcharges. If the Phillies get under $284M for 2026 – very doable – the surcharge rate would reduce from 60% to 12%, which equates to an overall tax reduction from 110% in 2025 to 62% in 2026. This also puts the Phillies in position for a full reset after Wheeler’s contract ends following the 2027 season, when Harper, Turner, and Nola will be 35+.
Certainly some speculation here on my part. Personally I think it may be more than a few years before we see a full reset for the Phillies. 2027 at the earliest and perhaps not even then.
Looks like a good deal.
If he was signed as a starter
?? How so. Look at his numbers the last two years as a bp arm. Now compare that with other guys with similar numbers… worst case thats market value but likely a little less.
Anytime you have to give a RP 3 or more years it’s a risk for the team. RP are so unstable you can make a huge overpay but have to pay Market demands. Scott is a happy man. He’ll probably get 5 years and at least 4 years. The RP Market is heating up.
Hoffman reminds me a lot like Robert Stephenson where he comes out of nowhere and posts a great season and gets a big deal
Of course look at Stephenson and the angels right now…
comes out of nowhere and posts a great season and gets a big deal
=========================
Stephenson only had 16 great innings at the end of the season, and was probably throwing his arm out. Hoffman has had 2 great seasons encompassing 118 IPs. A lot different.
Wow someone has agreed to that their money. Very impressive. Never thought he was going there.
Rumour is that there was a tax accountant flown in to discuss the fine points…
Hoffman must have hired his own personal Customs agent to expedite the border.
And new winter jackets. Can’t be too careful in August with the lake effect.
Told you guys and gals that the Jays were primed to start signing FAs this week. Solid pickup.
This fell under their interest radar. Good signing!
FINALLY THE BLUE JAYS Get someone!!!! ‘
Get out of here. Nice. Can’t believe we’re going to see him come full circle and pitch for them.
Solid deal. Good job Toronto!
Sweet mother of god…am I having a stroke? My squad signed someone? Someone good? Not just interest?!??!?
I do believe beers are going to be consumed tonight.
Blue Jays don’t dance boy, they make money moves…
This is some big ballin spending from the Blue Jays. I am sure it will make Vlad, Jr. pounce on any semi-reasonable deal they proffer him now.
/ s
Hey, look at that folks, the Jays finally got one!
Well, that is a nice number for him. Not sure why the Phillies couldn’t match that.
They are almost at 300 mil for luxury tax purposes. How high do you expect them to go?
It’s not about the money. They want to reset the penalties next year. So, if you notice, they’re signing players to 1-year-deals. They’re happy to deal with the penalties this season, but next season, they want to reset.
I guess this starts the run on relievers. Nice pickup.
Wasn’t he the centerpiece of the Troy Tulowitzki trade?
matt – No, Jesús Tinoco was.
Yes, Hoffman was the prize in that trade. And he was a big disappointment for the Rockies, just like Drew Pomeranz who was the centerpiece when they traded Ubaldo Jimenez. Both of those hyped prospects had to wait until they had left the Rockies before finding MLB success.
Maybe that means someone should take a chance on Austin Gomber when he becomes a free agent.
Thought he’d get around Clay Holmes money
Phils and jays swapping closers
I’ll take Hoffman
He wasn’t our closer
He saved nearly as many games as Alvarado and was more reliable. I know there wasn’t a set closer and estevez came on board later, but Hoffman was essentially as much a closer for the Phils as anyone else
Alvarado wasn’t our closer either. Estevez was, but Hoffman is an elite reliever, so your point is valid.
Hoffman wasn’t the Phillies closer. Dumbrowski believes in closer by committee.
That’s what the Mets get for waiting on the Polar Beer; another lost player who signed a reasonable deal
Cano – It’s tough to compete with the appeal of Toronto, eh.
Jays beat the Mets on Springer, but thank god the Mets “won” on Nimmo……what an absolute dumpster fire.
These things aren’t mutually exclusive. Mets FO can do more than one thing at once.
I get a kick out of the posters that think a team’s entire front office is sitting at their desks all day, staring at the phone, waiting for a call from Boras.
A Jays signing!
For the sake of all Jays fans only Jays signings posts from now on.
It is too far in to the offseason now. MLB Trade Rumors no more Jays were in on some guy stories.
Love this signing!
Bravo Jays
Excellent signing, Jays! And to possibly close? Yeah there ya go. Sign dudes to do what they’re good at.
Toronto did not have to overpay either to land a quality free agent.
That’s debatable. Apparently Baltimore backed out of a deal with him because his physical revealed a concern with his shoulder.
Hoffman isn’t a closer
He’s closed games, he can definitely do it.
He is now.
Sign V.L.A.D.D.Y.
Good price. Seems like someone else could have paid more. Good for the Jays.
they needed lf/rf/3b or even a 5th starter more. not sure this is the best use of their limited money
They needed to overhaul the absolute worst bullpen in the al
And they have an ownership, that could, if they choose, spend 500 million a year on salaries and have it be a rounding error on their balance sheet
The Jays finally got their man!!
Somebody woke up in the front office.
He will not work out for Toronto. He was on a downward trajectory at the pole last season.
He had two bad outings in Aug and Sept. and I see a bunch of goose eggs in between.
Watch him in crunch time.
You clearly didn’t watch Hoffman last year. He was elite. He got shelled in the playoffs, but he finished the regular season strong.
Von purple Hayes, Hoffman blew it in crunch time
He got shelled in the playoffs,
=======================
It’s a tiny sample size, but he allowed 10 ERs in his final 4 appearances (2.1 IPs). I was a fan of my RS signing him, but those appearances take on a bit more weight given the O’s medical findings.
An ice cold Phillies team played a red hot Mets team. I don’t really look too much into that. Very small sample size from a guy who had too many days off.
This is one the Mets should’ve looked at. Unless they do plan on Holmes in the pen as opposed to starting.
Great deal. Still need at least one bat but with how volatile bullpens are we shouldn’t have the worst relief corps in baseball next year.
“at least” is an understatement, but this deal is solid I agree.
I want rogers to get serious.
2 of Santander – Bregman or Santander – Alonso (would mean Vladdy to 3rd)
Let their 4A depth fill in the rest, trade clement for a reliever, and sign Flaherty (if not Roki of course)
And of course resign Vlad and Bo and just go get it.
no doesn’t want to come back and paying vladdy a long term deal to move to 3B is insane
Don’t worry, the Reds will have a worse bullpen at this rate.
I wonder if this takes Toronto out of the Esteves sweepstakes?
I was told yesterday that offers were out to several free agents. My tight-lipped source won’t confirm this was one of them, but that’s my guess. Watch for two more FAs, one with bat, one with arm, and two potential trades in play, he advised.
Hoffman a great signing. Comes home to roost after 9 years. Made pro debut with Dunedin Blue Jays. Then part of big trade for Tulowitzki in 2015 bulk-up and so went from AA to MLB…
He has proven since why Jays drafted him 9th overall in 2014..
GREAT signing.
I think there’s one on the table for Santander, no?
Great to hear that something is in the works….
they probably trade him and vlad at the deadline for some prospects cuz the blue jays are going nowhere with that roster
Guess we’ll just hand the WS trophy over to the Dodgers right now and call it a season then, right? There’s a reason we play out the games, lots of things can happen in baseball.
Glad to see Ross made it back from the Winter Meetings. I was starting to wonder.
Seriously though, great move. Now go get two bats!
Congrats to the Blue Jays for finally finding someone who will take their money.
There should be a tracker for who the Jays are not showing interest in so we can actually guess who they might sign!!
Happy to see a good player heading north!
Good point. Leaks aren’t necessarily what they seem, i.e. info no one wanted out the door. Often they’re simply leverage to speed up a possible deal or a sleight of hand misdirection. The challenge is in interpretation. Elsewhere, someone says this time of year is like a frozen lake. Looks dead and soulless except for a few fishing huts. But under the ice, the fish are swimming, feeding, procreating and being eaten alive. And dreaming fish dreams.
Hoffman coming back to Toronto 10 years later as a reliever, didn’t see that coming, pretty amazing turnaround he had in his career.
Crazy when Trevor is right there
I know , it brings a tear to the eye
Will he do any better than Yariel in the rotation
Great guy, I wish him the best north the border.
Good reliever at a good price. Hes the closer now
Bumps Yimi back to the 8th inning role where he was excellent
Sure, they signed him, but did they express interest in him too?
According to the orioles, he might be damaged goods.
O’s medical on pitchers are usually spot on.
4.82!!! Career ERA! YIKES!
Soooo you didn’t read the article
Look at his last 2 years.
Sad to see him leave Philly. Hoffman is very good.
Why wouldn’t the Phillies beat this? Ridiculous
this team is going no where
I think this outlook is all-too-common, and not very accurate.
The Phillies don’t need more offense, they need more pitching. And they made some really good moves in that regard.
Hoffmann would’ve only improved on that, and they didn’t even try (that we know of), and he’s **easily** worth this deal… the Phillies should’ve matched, or slightly exceeded the offer.
Boo-Urns;
Nothing personal…..
Considering the absurd amount of injuries to all pitchers – particularly older pitchers – giving any pitcher multiple years is going to fail more times than not. It’s like playing the lottery. Everyone talks about the people winning big sums, not the majority of people that cash a $50 ticket now and then.
If you look at the teams with the best bullpens year-after-year, it’s the small market teams. Usually most of their bullpens are compromised of players still under 6 years of control and relatively inexpensive…..and even they get hurt and miss time.
The O’s just signed Andrew Kittredge for one year. While that’s a risk, it’s limited. The odds of Mr. Hoffman being healthy for even 80% of Jays games over the next 3 years
are not good.
The Phillies playoff struggles last year were mostly related to their lineup. They had some of the worse production in the league from their OF offense. So, I disagree that they don’t need more offense. They just can’t afford it because they’re looking to reset those tax penalties next year.
Struggles for the last TWO years. The Phillies lost to the D-Backs. They were not beaten, their lineup layed down asleep twice in that series.
Maybe the Phils thought Hoffman had a late season injury.
Robert Stephenson 2.0 vibes
The Jays needed bullpen help and added a great arm here.
Every year there’s a team that pulls off 3 or 4 moves late. Very well could be Toronto this year.
Seems like a lot of money and years for a guy who has been good for 2 years but who was bad for 7 years before that.
I hope jays know what theyre doing
O’s canceled their contract with him after a bad physical
2 years as a reliever…….7 as a starter…..not rocket science.
Hoffmann was great in Philly regular season wise but disintegrated in the 2024 playoffs uncharacteristically. The O’s see shoulder issues. Coincidence?
Wow. Was not expecting this
I will never understand why the Phillies didn’t even try to re-sign him.
MAJOR f-up in my book.
They may have… the reports coming out are indicating that his medicals revealed shoulder issues.
@Yankee Clipper: Being reported on Braves sites that the Braves had a deal w/Hoffman before the O’s and Jays. His deal w/Atlanta was nullified when he failed the physical.
Orioles made the right call on Balfour and Colvin a decade ago. Wonder how this one will work out.
Makes sense. Better health care in Canada
Better health care in Canada
===========================
I’m not sure they have better healthcare as much as better-managed healthcare. I know Canadians that have come to the US for their medical problems. But of course, they had real money.
That said, don’t most athletics surgeries take place in the US?
Nice addition to the BP, now if only they can get Santander to put pen to paper things would look a little better in the great white north
I’m curious as to what the Orioles med staff saw to cause them to back out of their deal with Hoffy?
I know they’re notoriously cautious with what they see in medicals, so hopefully he’s all good. It’s a good move for the Jays if he is.
My info is it wasn’t the med staff, but a premature agreement announcement before a sign-off.
@pingston: What does your “info” say about Hoffman failing a physical w/the Braves before the O’s? Atlanta fan sites reporting this over the last couple of days.
If Hoffman can stay healthy, this is a pretty good opportunity for him as the Jays want him to close. He’s blocked by Felix Bautista with the O’s. Jumping ahead, the IP incentives are a bit high to reach entirely but he can set himself up for another fatter contract.
I hope the medical staff of Baltimore is wrong. At 9 million less, makes you wonder. If he has a shoulder injury in spring training, Atkins and Shapiro should be fired immediately!
O’s problem is documented. This isn’t $9 million less, it will match the reported Baltimore deal with all the incentives. Nice to have a drafted/traded Blue Jay return to the nest.
I’d be concerned that the O’s rejected him for medical reasons, and that the Phillies never showed any interest in extending him.
Past that, he is a perfect fit.
@Joe Brady: Being reported on Braves fan sites that Hoffman failed a physical that nullified a deal w/the Braves before his failed physical w/the O’s. There were rumors early last week that this had happened.
Nice upgrade over an injured Romano.
First it was Jays finally did something. Then turnt out to be damaged goods. Allegedly….
For my home team it feels like an auction win at the last second but it’s a good signing and a miracle for the Jays to replace Romano. Orioles balked at his physical though so we’ll see if that foreshadows in any way into the contract. Is it enough to make the team more attractive or would another quality pitcher be added? I’d feel better with a quality SP signing if they are more serious about putting Rodriguez into the BP. Or do you feel like we have enough pitching for now?