After Jeff Hoffman signed with the Toronto Blue Jays this offseason, the pitcher was asked if he would have more motivation pitching against the Orioles this year.
Hoffman and Baltimore agreed to a multiyear contract over the winter, but the Orioles rescinded the offer after they flagged his physical because of what his shoulder looked like on an MRI.
“We can add them to the list,” Hoffman said in January during his introductory news conference.
Hoffman did just that Sunday, and he made sure the Orioles didn’t forget.
The Blue Jays closer pitched the final two frames of Toronto’s 7-6 win in extra innings, striking out four and not allowing a run. After Hoffman struck out Ramón Laureano looking to end the game, he blew a kiss toward Baltimore’s dugout.
When asked Sunday whether he still has a chip on his shoulder about what happened with the Orioles this offseason, Hoffman paused, pondered the question for a few seconds and gave a wry smile.
“Um … when I’m thinking about the games before the games are being played and stuff, yeah obviously, that’s definitely in my head,” Hoffman said. “But once I’m in the game, in the moment, I’m focused on making pitches. All that stuff, if you get starting to think about all that stuff while you’re out there, things tend not to go well. I do my best to stay in the moment and just try to make the next pitch and get my team back in the dugout.”
Hoffman said he’s the type of pitcher who wears his emotions on his sleeves, as evidenced by his reaction to slamming the door on Toronto’s comeback victory. The Orioles led 6-3, but the Blue Jays scored three runs off Gregory Soto in the eighth and another off Matt Bowman in the 10th.
“Definitely,” Hoffman said when asked if he was thinking about the Orioles reneging on their offer when he blew a kiss to their dugout. “I’m excited when we win. It’s hard to win in this league. We put together a good second half of that game, and it was nice to get that win.”
Had the Orioles not flagged Hoffman’s physical, he would’ve been the first free agent pitcher signed to a multiyear deal by the club since Alex Cobb in 2018. Instead of bringing in Hoffman, the Orioles added veteran starter Charlie Morton and reliever Andrew Kittredge. Morton has an 8.78 ERA this season, while Kittredge has yet to pitch in a game after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery during spring training.
Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman gave a wry smile when asked if he had extra juice pitching against the Orioles today.
Hoffman, whose contract offer from the Orioles was rescinded because of concerns about his shoulder, blew a kiss toward Baltimore’s dugout after closing it out. pic.twitter.com/Fg0cQr8pLS
— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) April 13, 2025
According to multiple reports, the first of which by FanSided, the Orioles still attempted to agree with Hoffman after they flagged his physical, but he instead signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Blue Jays.
Baltimore wasn’t the only team to pull back an offer from Hoffman this winter. The Atlanta Braves were the first team to agree with Hoffman on a contract, but it fell through after the physical.
Hoffman, an All-Star last year, said in January that he didn’t agree with the Orioles and Braves’ assessment of his shoulder.
“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.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider certainly feels that way now, too.
Hoffman, the winning pitcher Sunday, has a 0.96 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings to begin his Blue Jays career. His past two appearances have been two-inning outings in extra innings to lead Toronto to one-run wins. Those are the types of performances the Orioles regularly received from Félix Bautista in 2023 before his injury, but Baltimore is bringing its star closer along slowly this year. Bautista was unavailable to pitch Sunday after he closed out Saturday’s win.
Schneider, who said Hoffman was “the difference in the game” Sunday, said he expected his closer to be amped up to pitch in that situation against Baltimore.
“I love it,” Schneider said of Hoffman’s intensity. “He does such a good job of containing it. When he makes pitches, he lets it out. I think it’s great. He really likes these moments. He was probably looking forward to this series a little bit after the offseason he had, and rightfully so.
“If that’s what fuels you, so be it. I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.
