The Atlanta Braves have obviously not done much this offseason much to the chagrin of fans. Not only do the Braves generally avoid the lengthy mega-deals that Juan Soto and, to a much lesser extent, Max Fried ended up getting, but they seemed to have a narrow bandwidth of players they were considering at all and have just gotten outbid to this point. However, another wrinkle to Atlanta's offseason activities according to a recent report and it is a cautionary tale about all of the things that go into making a big signing.
Jeff Hoffman was one of best free agent relievers on the free agent market. Annoyingly, he was quite good with the Phillies the last couple of years and some thought that he would be a good fit for the Braves especially given that some thought he could get converted back into the rotation.
However, the Braves ultimately passed on Hoffman and he ended up signing with the Blue Jays. While it was a bummer to see another potential Atlanta target come off the board, it looks like the Braves may have dodged a bullet here. According to Braves insider Mark Bowman, there was a potential deal in place with Hoffman before he failed his physical with the team similar to what happened with Hoffman's deal with the Orioles.
Per a source, Jeff Hoffman had a potential deal that was nixed when he failed a physical with the Braves’ medical staff. Hoffman also reportedly failed a physical with the Orioles before signing with the Blue Jays
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 13, 2025
Braves nearly signed Jeff Hoffman before he failed his physical
This is a friendly reminder that there are often perfectly defensible reasons why a team decides to pass on a what appears to be a really good player. Rumor has it that the Orioles were close to signing Hoffman before his physical revealed issues with his throwing shoulder. Based on Bowman's reporting here, it seems like it is incredibly possible that the Braves saw the same issue and pivoted away from him in a hurry.
We don't know the exact timeline of events here or even what the Braves plans for Hoffman were. Atlanta is so tight-lipped that they could have been the first team in line to sign Hoffman before the issues with his physical popped up. However, we do know that the Orioles were offering a deal somewhere in the three year, $40 million range and that combined with what Hoffman ended up signing in Toronto does tell us something.
In all likelihood, the Braves likely were willing to give Hoffman something like $13-14 million a year for three years. While certainly not a massive deal compared to some of the others given out this offseason, this does mean that the Braves are willing to spend (especially on their bullpen) if the right guy crosses their path. Whether or not this makes a potential Tanner Scott deal more or less likely remains to be seen.