On a day when Philadelphia Phillies fans were hoping to see a familiar face in a "Hoffman" jersey walking back through their doors, they've instead sent a Hoffman jersey out the door (and yes, Jeff did get traded - to the Twins). Reliever Nolan Hoffman, who's pitched 4 2/3 innings this season as a member of Philadelphia's bullpen carousel, is headed to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for 19-year-old Single-A hurler Manuel Colón.
The Phillies imported bullpen help on Monday morning by tacking on Giants reliever Caleb Kilian to the Luis Arraez trade, and losing Hoffman doesn't exactly qualify as "losing a key piece". Still, Phillies fans were hoping to see a slightly more thorough overhaul on Monday as Dave Dombrowski looks to redeem his past several seasons of struggling to find the missing piece.
Instead, after bringing Arraez and Kilian in, Dombrowski shuffled Bryce Harper to the outfield and watched Jo Adell head to the Guardians and Daulton Varsho move on to the Astros.
While the rest of baseball pulls together their massive, earth-shattering trade packages - did you SEE what Adley Rutschman went for?! - the Phils instead snuck a reliever-for-teenager deal out the door, buried by far more interesting news.
We have acquired RHP Nolan Hoffman from the Philadelphia Phillies for RHP Manuel Colón.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) August 3, 2026
Phillies somehow manage to lose bullpen option in Royals trade
So ... ok, who's Manuel Colón? He's replacing a potential viable Phillies depth reliever and heading to the bottom of the farm. Is there anything to believe in here before he makes his Clearwater debut?
27 1/3 of Colón's innings were at the Rookie Ball level, with two frames at Columbia (three earned runs) accounting for the sum total of his full-season record to date. MiLB.com believes he'll report to the Threshers, and we're inclined to agree. He does not rank among the moribund Royals' top 30.
It's hard to write a thorough eulogy for Hoffman, but that's the whole point. The Phillies checked a box with a bonafide early morning addition. Then, when fans begged them to thicken out their bullpen and outfield, he instead shipped out a depth piece for a total wild card and sat on his hands while shuffling infielders and outfielders around aimlessly. Fun trade deadline. Would love to be a part of one someday.
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