The Blue Jays made a major bullpen upgrade Friday night, announcing a deal with Jeff Hoffman Guaranteed $33MM. CAA customers reportedly receive a $5MM signing bonus and can earn an additional $6MM in incentives. Over those three seasons, he unlocked $500,000 for every 60, 70, 80 and 90 innings he pitched. His salary will be $6 million next season and will reach $11 million annually starting in the 2026-27 season.
General manager Ross Atkins said in a statement that Huffman “will have an opportunity to close out the game for us” (via MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson). This suggests they plan to keep the right-hander for the final innings. Hoffman reportedly drew interest from teams as a starting pitcher.
Hoffman, who turns 32 on Wednesday, returns to the team that drafted him more than a decade ago. The right-hander was Toronto’s first-round draft pick (ninth overall) in 2014 out of East Carolina. Ranked among Baseball America’s top 100 prospects every season. Huffman didn’t last long in the Toronto system. A year after the draft, the Jays traded him to the Rockies as part of a return Troy Tulowitzki Deadline blockbuster.
The early years of Hoffman’s major league career were a time of struggle. Like many young pitchers, he had a rough time at Coors Field. Hoffman averaged over 6.00 ERA in parts of five seasons with the Rox. Colorado trades him to Reds Robert Stephenson before the 2021 season. Stephenson and Hoffman are both former top prospects whose careers will take off after moving to the bullpen.
For Hofmann, that didn’t happen right away. He had two good but unspectacular seasons in Cincinnati, posting a combined 4.28 ERA in 66 games. He signed a minor league deal with the Phillies after spring training in 2023. He made the major league roster in early May of his first season and posted a 2.41 ERA in 52 1/3 innings.
That performance makes him a key member of Rob Thomson’s Leverage team heading into 2024. He went 66 1/3 innings and posted a 2.17 ERA while striking out more than a third of opposing batters. During his time with the Phillies, Hoffman averaged a 2.28 ERA and a strikeout rate of 33.4%. In 473 plate appearances, he held a walk rate of 7.4% and held opponents to a .180/.249/.295 line.
Of the 97 relievers with more than 100 shutouts in the past two seasons, only five (Emmanuel Claes, Tanner Scott, Ryan Helsley, Kirby Yates and Taylor Holden) has a lower ERA. Hoffman also ranked sixth in strikeout rate, behind Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader, Fernando CruzKirby Yates and Ajay Pook. He ranks in the top 10 in swing hitting percentage. The 6-foot-5 shooter has what it takes to match those results. His fastball average velocity is about 97 mph. Hoffman mixed four pitches and overwhelmed hitters with a heater and his uphill 80s slider.
That performance earned him a contract comparable to what most top teams have offered in recent offseasons. That exactly matches what Stephenson, the breakout free-agent reliever, earned from the Angels last winter. Josh Jimenez, Reynaldo Lopez, Rafael Montero, Tyler Rogers and Clay Holmes All signed three-year contracts with guarantees ranging from $26 to $38. Jordan Hicks Signed for $11MM per year, but was able to get a fourth year with the Giants heading into his age-27 season.
MLBTR ranks Hoffman as the second free agent reliever behind Scott. We expect this to be a four-year, $44MM deal. While the AAV is accurate, the team is clearly not willing to spend four years at that salary during his age-32-35 seasons. Hoffman reportedly wants a deal similar to the three-year, $3MM deal Holmes received from the Mets. He’s a little shy about it, at least in part because New York will give Holmes a chance to break into the rotation.
FanSided’s Robert Murray reports tonight that Huffman was ready to sign a three-year, $4MM contract with the Orioles, but Baltimore raised objections to his throwing shoulder during a physical . Teams have different standards for how much injury risk they are willing to tolerate. Baltimore is known for its emphasis on physical fitness. Huffman hasn’t spent any time on the injured list the past two years. He missed most of the second half of 2022 due to a forearm issue. As a member of the Reds, he did miss about two months early in the ’21 season with a shoulder impingement.
This signing may be some evidence of a thaw in the slow-moving reliever market. For the second day in a row, one of the bullpen’s top prospects is off the board and Baltimore agrees to a deal with 10MM. Andrew Kitteridge last night (after backing out of the deal with Huffman). Scott remains unsigned and should have a sizable advantage in getting the most important reliever deal of the offseason. Carlos EstevezYates and David Robertson Belongs to the next set of rear end arms.
This is Toronto’s biggest free agent move of the offseason. Their only previous signing was a two-year, $150,000 deal Yimi Garcia Back to the organization. They also took on nearly $100 in missions and received support from Nick Sandlin exist Andres Jimenez trading. Last season, the Jayhawks’ bullpen was the worst in the American League. They didn’t call for tenders Jordan Romano That comes after an injury-plagued season for their former All-Star closer. (Romano signed with Philadelphia as a key replacement for Hoffman.) Three new bullpen pickups join the retained ranks Eric Swanson and Chad Green Serves as a potential late-round option for John Snyder.
According to RosterResource, Toronto’s luxury tax is as high as approximately $239MM. This puts them within a few million dollars of the base threshold of $241MM. Last season, the Blue Jays fell slightly below the CBT line. If they want a significant offensive upgrade outside of Jimenez, they’ll need to be willing to exceed that mark. The outfielders are the biggest question on paper, and the Jayhawks could also look to solidify the third base position, which currently features a number of young, unproven infielders.
Jon Morosi of MLB first reported that the Jayhawks and Hoffman were discussing a multi-year deal. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported the $6MM bonus, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel detailed it. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the signing bonus, while The Associated Press reported the salary structure.
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