Issues have popped up game after game for the Philadelphia Phillies. Their most recent fight has been just to keep their heads above water. The threat of dipping below the .500 mark is a real possibility this weekend in Chicago against the Cubs. The games still have to be played and with the constraints on the roster, they don't have any viable alternatives to turn to at the moment.
The bullpen has been the biggest disappointment when it comes to downfalls of the playoff hopeful franchise. Just 25 games into 2025 sees the Phillies sleepwalking through the end of games, as they entered Friday with the second-worst bullpen ERA in MLB with 5.56.
Just a year ago, the bullpen heading into the 2024 season was ranked to be the best in the sport. Reliever Jeff Hoffman had a lot to do with that, as he was heavily trusted to close out games. After comments about Hoffman's departure surfaced recently, it only rubs salt in the wound for Phillies fans.
Phillies missed out on Jeff Hoffman despite an aggressive approach
Hoffman became a free agent after 2024 and quickly became in high demand after how dominant he was for the Phillies. What makes it feel worse is that the Phillies seemingly let him slip through their fingers. Hoffman ultimately signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson. Unsurprisingly, Hoffman has played up to the contract, pitching to a 2-0 record, with six saves, a 1.35 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings pitched.
The part that feels like a knife in the stomach, as the Phillies had an aggressive offer on the table, but were unable to hit the number Hoffman was expecting to get. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski shed some light on what transpired during the talks with Hoffman's camp, per MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
“We tried to sign Hoffman, very aggressively,” Dombrowski said, per Zolecki. “They turned down our offer. … At the time, he was still looking for more dollars, and then we had to make a decision on Romano or somebody else. We just didn’t feel that we were going to match the dollars that he was looking to get. But we were very aggressive in terms of signing him.
The Phillies pursued Hoffman, but a decline on the initial offer forced him to look elsewhere in pursuit of a better deal. Hoffman was a vital piece to the Phillies' bullpen, and all Phillies fans have now is a game of "what if?"
The worst part is that what Hoffman eventually signed for wasn't far off what the Phillies initially offered, as hinted at by Dombrowski.
“I can’t tell you that the number he ended up signing was substantially different than the one we ended up offering," Dombrowski said, per Zolecki. "But he wasn’t prepared to take that at that time. They just thought they were going to get much more.”
The Phillies instead resorted to Romano, who sports a stifling 13.50 ERA. There have been outings in which his velocity has been down. There have been others where it was there, but he still got hit around with ease. We know there were some questions regarding Hoffman's shoulder, with two potential deals falling through due to flagged physicals, so that could have factored into the decision-making as well.
Either way, the Phillies seem like they ended up on the worst side possible of this deal. Hoffman wanted to remain a Phillie and continue his legacy here, but instead he walked for similar money and leaves the Phillis with no one to even sniff the same production level.