Blue Jays Closer Jeff Hoffman Had Petty Reason for Blowing Orioles' Dugout a Kiss

Ryan Phillips | Apr 13, 2025

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman blows a kiss to the Baltimore Orioles' dugout. / Via Ben Hall on

Jeff Hoffman clearly still has beef with the Baltimore Orioles.

This past offseason, the Orioles agreed to a three-year, $40 million deal with the veteran reliever but backed out of the agreement after his physical due to concerns about his throwing shoulder. It was later revealed that a potential deal with the Atlanta Braves was scuttled over a similar concern.

Hoffman wound up signing a three-year, $33 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. On Sunday, he faced the Orioles in Baltimore for the first time since the offseason drama between the two sides. He was booed by fans as he walked to the mound.

Hoffman entered the game in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied 6-6. He pitched two scoreless innings, including closing the game out in the 10th after Toronto scored in the top half of the inning. After he got the final out, Hoffman blew a kiss at the Orioles' dugout.

Jeff Hoffman blew a kiss at the Orioles dugout after getting the win.

He agreed to a three-year, $40 million deal with Baltimore in the offseason before the O’s pulled out of the deal because of questions with his physical.pic.twitter.com/nJNDQGDdNp

— Ben Hall (@bhjournalist) April 13, 2025

Yeah, I think it's safe to say he's still a bit upset.

The 32-year-old is now 2-0 on the season with a 0.96 ERA, a 0.64 WHIP and 13 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings.

---

More MLB on Sports Illustrated

feed