Philadelphia Phillies Usher In Change by Letting Jeff Hoffman Sign With Blue Jays
Jeff Hoffman wanted to remain with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he will no longer be coming out of the bullpen for the team where his career was resurrected after he signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
For a while, this was seen as likely.
When the Phillies didn't immediately get the right-hander back on a deal, it became more and more apparent that he would be playing for a new team in 2025 and beyond.
It took a while, but that's exactly what happened.
Some fans might be upset Hoffman wasn't more of a priority, especially because he was incredible during his two years in Philadelphia, but by not bringing him back, this is the change that many expected the franchise to make.
It would have been easy for the Phillies to hand the shutdown man $11 million per season, especially since he had a 2.28 ERA and 184 ERA+ across his 122 outings.
But his struggles in the playoffs had to be a huge factor in the decision making.
Hoffman, for as good as he had been during the 162-game schedule, posted an 8.64 ERA across his 11 appearances in October the past two years, including a nightmarish six earned runs given up in his 1.1 innings of work in three outings this past postseason.
So, Philadelphia opted to take a gamble and let an established backend arm who is well liked in the clubhouse walk as a free agent instead of bringing him back.
The reasoning makes sense, though.
Outside of the playoff struggles, one could argue that Hoffman could not have performed any better for the Phillies than he has during this two-year stretch, and since they got that production by paying him just $3.5 million total, upping that to $11 million per season isn't good business.
Great teams operate by paying players for future production, not what was done in the past.
Yes, Hoffman was great for Philadelphia, but if he falters even a little bit at that price over the next three years, the organization could be looking at another overinflated deal that isn't living up to the contract.
Looking past the pure financials of this decision, the Phillies made adjustments in the mentality area this offseason as well, something that was also made clear with them letting Hoffman walk.
It's no secret that Philadelphia has a great clubhouse culture, but after two straight years of going backwards in the playoffs, a shake up might have been more than needed.
So, Hoffman isn't back on a lucrative extension and Jordan Romano, a hungry pitcher looking to prove himself after an injury-riddled campaign, takes his place.
Whether it was the right decision to let Hoffman leave in free agency will be seen, but fans were looking for some changes after their embarrassing defeat against the New York Mets in the NLDS, and this represents that.