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Jeff Hoffman is set to pitch for the Minnesota Twins in 2027 after Toronto dealt the struggling closer for prospects at the trade deadline. However, the Blue Jays will still be on the hook for a significant portion of his earnings.
Toronto owes $3.75 million of Hoffman's $11 million base salary for next season, per Blue Jays Nation, while the Twins will cover the remaining $7.25 million, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. Additionally, the Blue Jays must pay a $1.7 million installment toward Hoffman's signing bonus, as reported by FanGraphs. Combined, those payments total roughly $5.42 million.
That financial commitment follows a closer who surrendered the game-tying home run in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series and then spent 2026 trying to recover from that setback.
Key Analysis
The Blue Jays originally selected Hoffman ninth overall in 2014 out of East Carolina, but traded him to Colorado the following summer in the blockbuster deal that brought Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto, according to The Canadian Press. Across 378 appearances for four clubs, Hoffman had a 38-40 record with 50 saves, a 4.69 ERA, and 638 strikeouts before this year's deadline.
His career turned around with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2024, when he posted a 2.17 ERA in 68 appearances and made his first All-Star team. Toronto then signed him to a three-year, $33 million contract.
In 2025, Hoffman led all MLB closers with 59 games finished and recorded 33 saves with a 4.37 ERA, then allowed two runs in 12 1/3 playoff innings, per Field Level Media. Then came Game 7.
With one out in the ninth and Toronto leading 4-3, Miguel Rojas hit a 3-2 slider 387 feet over the left field fence. The Blue Jays had held a 91.3 percent chance of winning Game 7 before that swing, according to CBS Sports. The Dodgers won 5-4 in 11 innings.
"Was just one pitch," Hoffman said after the game, as quoted by Sports Illustrated. "I cost everybody here a World Series ring."
Did he ever shake it? The results say yes—eventually. The closer's job did not return before he was traded.
Hoffman opened 2026 in the closer role but lost the job on April 24. Louis Varland took over, according to Sports Illustrated. A 6.31 ERA in April and May cost Hoffman his closer position, per BaseballHQ. He had blown four saves in nine opportunities by July.
After June 1, though, Hoffman posted a 1.21 ERA with 30 strikeouts over 22 1/3 innings. He finished 2026 with a 3.55 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 66 innings for both clubs before a forearm injury ended his season on Sept. 26.
Toronto's return for Hoffman was three prospects, headlined by Minnesota's No. 7 prospect, Dasan Hill, according to MLB.com. The Blue Jays also capitalized on Hoffman's two-month hot streak and the year of club control left on his contract. Toronto completed four trades on deadline day.
"This is not the situation we wanted to be in, where we're parting ways with Jeff Hoffman," general manager Ross Atkins said after the trade was completed. "We would have certainly been pleased to have Jeff Hoffman tonight and next year, but that return and the shape of it made sense for us."
So why is Toronto still paying? The Blue Jays used the same approach in their earlier Daulton Varsho trade, and it helped Atkins command a better return, according to Blue Jays Nation.
Originally reported by yahoo.