Reliever Jeff Hoffman says Orioles and Braves backed off deals before his contract with Blue Jays

Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman delivers during Game 2 of a baseball NL Division Series against the New York Mets, Oct. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, File)

The Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves backed out of agreements to sign Jeff Hoffman because of concerns about the reliever’s pitching shoulder before he finalized a $33 million, three-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last week.

“The stuff they saw on the MRIs, whatever they saw was what their team docs were saying,” he said Wednesday during the Blue Jays' introductory Zoom news conference. “Not any bit in line with the way I feel, though, so it’s not something that I’m really concerned about or worried about.”

A right-hander who turned 32 on Jan. 8, Hoffman went for in-person physicals for deals with the Orioles and Braves.

“All the flags, physical stuff, was as big a surprise to me as anybody,” he said. “If you can check my kind of track record over the past few seasons, I’ve been as healthy as anybody. It’s a nonissue for me. It’s just something that they wanted to bring up and the Blue Jays see me for what I am. So I’d rather be in a place like that anyways.”

Braves spokesman Jared Burleyson and Orioles spokeswoman Jackie Harig said their teams declined to comment.

Toronto gave Hoffman a deal that included a $5 million signing bonus and salaries of $6 million this year and $11 million in each of the following two seasons. He can earn up to $2 million annually in performance bonuses for innings pitched: $500,000 each for 60, 70, 80 and 90.

“When the team docs got their hands on me and everything for the actual physical orthopedic exam there was really nothing to worry about,” Hoffman said. ”My body’s moving great, range of motion, everything is normal for me and it’s as it would be midseason.”

Hoffman was last on the injured list in 2022 with Cincinnati, when he didn’t pitch after July 23 because of right forearm stiffness. He was on the IL from May 27 to July 21 in 2021 because of a sore right shoulder and was sidelined by right shoulder inflammation early in the 2018 season while with Colorado.

A first-time All-Star last year, Hoffman wound up with his original big league organization. He was selected by the Blue Jays with the ninth overall pick in the 2014 amateur draft and was traded to Colorado a year later. He had the Blue Jays' draft card framed and on a wall as he spoke from his home in the Orlando area of Florida.

“Been a little chaotic, obviously,” Hoffman said. “Not stuff that we necessarily agreed with when we were going through the process, but teams have their ways of looking at physicals and stuff like that, and at the end of the day, the ball’s in their court on that kind of stuff. So we’re really excited that Toronto was kind of in it from the beginning and kept contact through the whole process, and we always kind of felt like it was a really cool place that we could end up.”

Hoffman went 3-3 with a 2.17 ERA and 10 saves last season for the NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies, earning his first All-Star selection in July. He set career bests for ERA, saves and appearances (68). He struck out 89 and walked 16 in 66 1/3 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .197 batting average with a 0.96 WHIP. But he struggled badly in last year’s playoffs versus the New York Mets, going 1-2 while allowing six runs in 1 1/3 innings over three outings in their Division Series.

Hoffman would earn $150,000 for winning a Cy Young Award, $125,000 for finishing second in the voting, $100,000 for third, $75,000 for fourth and $50,000 for fifth. He would receive $100,00 for winning the Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award and $75,000 for becoming a finalist, $50,000 each for making the All-Star team or winning World Series MVP and $25,000 for League Championship Series MVP.