Former Philadelphia Phillies Reliever Makes Sense for A's

Jason Burke | Jan 4, 2025

May 26, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a Philadelphia Phillies hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The A's are in the tinkering stage of the offseason, with most of their roster spots fairly set with six weeks left until pitchers and catchers report to camp for the 2025 season. Yet, one upgrade the team could look to make would be to provide manager Mark Kotsay with a veteran relief pitcher to rely upon in the eighth inning that could hand the ball off to Mason Miller, one of the game's best closers, in the ninth.

Former Philadelphia Phillies righty Jeff Hoffman would be an intriguing fit.

Hoffman was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays ninth overall in the 2014 MLB Draft, and was part of the deal that sent Troy Tulowitski from the Colorado Rockies to the Jays. He made his debut with the Rockies in 2016, and stuck with the club through the 2020 campaign, getting into 68 games with 38 starts in that span. He also totaled a 6.40 ERA in Colorado.

He was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds in November of 2020, where he would stick for two more seasons and rack up a 4.28 ERA. He elected free agency in '22 and signed a minor-league deal with the Minnesota Twins, but was released on March 28 of 2023, only to be scooped up by the Philadelphia Phillies.

This is where Hoffman's career really took off.

In 2024 he was named an All Star, and over his two years in the Phillies' bullpen, he posted a very impressive 2.28 ERA (2.54 FIP) across 118 2/3 innings. He has been the real deal. Last season he put up 2.0 fWAR, and if he were to replicate that performance with the A's, he'd be one of the best pitchers on the staff.

Currently only Miller (2.2), Jeffrey Springs (2.1), and Luis Severino (2.0) are projected for two or more win seasons. JP Sears is the next-closest at 1.4 projected wins above replacement over at FanGraphs, so grabbing someone of Hoffman's caliber would be a big addition.

While the current projections would already be an improvement over '24, with the goal being to play competitive baseball during the final weeks of the season in 2025, a player like Hoffman could be a difference maker. Last year, only Miller's 2.3 WAR broke the two-win barrier from pitchers.

The reason that Hoffman has been more successful these past two seasons is that he has been relying on his slider a bit more, going from 23.7% usage, to 47.9% in 2023 and 40.8% this past season. Batters just haven't had an answer for the pitch, hitting just .074 against it in '23, then .198 (.178 expected batting average) in '24.

The right-hander will be entering his age 32 season, and while he isn't a ground ball specialist, he does miss plenty of bats, particularly with that slider, leading to a 33.6% strikeout rate last season. Miller (41.8%) and Michel Otañez (36.4%) are the only two pitchers on the A's staff that fared better.

There have been recent reports that teams have been looking to add Hoffman as a starting pitcher, like the New York Mets did when they signed free agent Clay Holmes, and if this is something that Hoffman is wanting to pursue, then the fit for the A's may not be as great. At the same time, they could give him an opportunity to start, and if he struggles, then he could become the leverage reliever that they're after anyway. It would be a win-win situation.

The A's need one more veteran on their club, and with Hoffman seeking a deal similar to Holmes' three-year, $38 million pact, that would fit right in line with how much the A's have to spend this offseason in order to reach the $105 million marker and avoid a grievance being filed against them by the MLBPA.