Star Reliever Adds Baltimore Orioles to 'The List' After Deal Fell Apart

One of the players the Baltimore Orioles tried to sign this offseason is now extra motivated to face them after a deal between the two sides fell through.

Jul 16, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; National League pitcher Jeff Hoffman of the Philadelphia Phillies (23) pitches in the eighth inning during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles almost made a splash free agency signing.

When deals are agreed upon by a player and a team, it virtually feels like a formality something gets finalized, but until things are made official, there is aways a chance either party walks away.

That's what happened with the Orioles and Jeff Hoffman.

The two sides reportedly had agreed to a multiyear contract, something that would have been the first handed to a reliever by Baltimore since 2018. That would have netted them a star right-hander who has posted a 2.28 ERA and 184 ERA+ the past two years.

But, something stood out in his medicals and the Orioles walked away.

Hoffman then signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, the team he initially began his professional journey with when he was taken ninth overall in the 2014 draft.

Baltimore will now have to face him multiple times per season as part of an AL East rivalry.

Hoffman is already motivated to compete against the Orioles whenever the opportunity arises, telling reporters at his introductory press conference, "We can add them to the list."

Who else the right-hander has on there hasn't been shared, but one could surmise the Philadelphia Phillies, who didn't re-sign him this winter despite him publicly wanting to come back, are on their alongside Baltimore and the Atlanta Braves since they were the other team who flagged something in his medicals.

That begs the question if the Blue Jays saw the same things and weren't concerned with them, or if they flat out missed it.

Either way, Hoffman is excited to be going to Toronto.

"All the flags, physical stuff, was as big a surprise to me as anybody. 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," he said per Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun.

Time will tell if the Orioles made a mistake or not.

Mike Elias thinks this bullpen unit is one of the strengths of the roster already, but if they falter like they did in 2024 and Hoffman stays healthy and has another elite year, then the organization will likely regret reneging on this deal.

Either way, the star right-hander is motivated to take out Baltimore in the division during the next three years.