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Braves Added to List of Teams that Backed Out of signing Jeff Hoffman

Dominic Gutierrez / MLB / January 14, 2025

Braves Added to List of Teams that Backed Out of signing Jeff Hoffman

Before Jeff Hoffman signed a three year deal with the Blue Jays, it appeared that the Orioles had him locked up, but a failed physical stopped that from happening. Turns out the O’s weren’t the only team Hoffman failed a physical for.

Mark Bowman of MLB.com reported that the Braves also had a deal in place for Hoffman, but he apparently failed their physical as well.

Per a source, Jeff Hoffman had a potential deal that was nixed when he failed a physical with the Braves’ medical staff. Hoffman also reportedly failed a physical with the Orioles before signing with the Blue Jays
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 13, 2025

The Braves were offering between $45-48 million for the 32 year old. They also wanted to try him out in the rotation for the first few years before potentially moving him back to the bullpen. Hoffman has only started in 50 career games and was a driving force out of the bullpen for the Phillies.

The Orioles offered Hoffman a three-year, $40 million deal before he failed their physical over a right shoulder issue. Bowman said there wasn’t a clear reason to why the Braves physical failed, but it was more than likely the same issue.

Blue Jays fans may be a bit more worried knowing Hoffman failed two physicals, but injuries have never been an issue for him in his career. He went 3-3 with a 2.17 ERA and 10 saves last season, including his first All-Star appearance.

I guess Hoffman is becoming the reliever version of Carlos Correa. Remember when he failed physicals for both the Giants and Mets? Every team does physicals differently, however. The Blue Jays clearly didn’t find any issues that the other two teams found.

It’s probably a good thing the Braves didn’t sign him anyway. The starting pitcher experiment would’ve ruined the confidence he’s built in the bullpen over the past two seasons. I guess we’ll see if any more teams come out saying they tried to sign Hoffman.