Blue Jays, Phillies bullpens will be connected all year after risky reliever swap

After much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth over the state of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen at the end of the 2024 season, the current relief corps roster looks a little more appetizing just a month out from spring training. The most recent addition of right-hander Jeff Hoffman certainly helps.

Hoffman joins fellow right-hander Nick Sandlin as the new faces for 2025, with Yimi García returning after a brief trip to Seattle. Along with incumbents Chad Green and Erik Swanson, the top five in Toronto's bullpen should be relatively strong this season. However, there will be a shadow over the Hoffman signing all season with former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano now pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Comparisons between Blue Jays' Jeff Hoffman and Phillies' Jordan Romano will be never-ending

On paper, Hoffman's three-year deal looks like a strong move. In reality, the front office's decision to essentially swap Romano for Hoffman has a chance to backfire — especially if Romano returns to his two-time All-Star form.

Hoffman will make a minimum of $11 million this year and in each of the following two seasons after having had his shoulder flagged by the two other teams with which he agreed. At 32 years old, Hoffman has a two-year track record of being a go-to high-leverage option in Philadelphia. Before that, his career looked the opposite of a first-round draft pick's path.

Salvaged from impending minor league purgatory, Hoffman posted a 2.28 ERA in 122 relief appearances for the Phillies in 2023 and 2024. Before that, he had a 5.68 ERA in 134 appearances (50 starts) over parts of seven MLB seasons with the Colorado Rockies and Cincinnati Reds.

If Hoffman doesn't deliver the same results in Toronto as he did in Philadelphia, and Romano performs how the Phillies are banking on, the comparisons between the two veterans will be never-ending this year, and Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins will never hear the end of it.

Non-tendering Romano was a head-scratching move to begin with if, in fact, the team had no medical concerns (as Atkins claimed in December) with Romano's elbow after mid-season surgery. The career Blue Jay was due a projected $7.75 million in arbitration and signed an $8.5 million, one-year contract with the Phillies for a chance to prove himself for a larger multi-year deal next winter.

Now, the Blue Jays' decision will be scrutinized all year, and the two closers will be forever connected despite not being traded for one another. Even if Hoffman does what the team expects this season, there are still two more years on the contract to worry about.