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A wild and whirlwind trade deadline day for Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins may have had its biggest blast in the last gasps prior to the 6 p.m. deadline.
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A busy session of retooling for the last-place team was capped with a deal sending reliever Jeff Hoffman, who began the season as the team’s closer, to the Minnesota Twins.
In return, the Jays are getting a trio of prospects: Minor league pitchers Dasan Hill and John Klein as well as infielder Dameury Pena.
Hoffman, who signed a three-year, $33 million US deal with the Jays in January 2025, was originally brought in to replace Jordan Romano as closer. His propensity to give up home runs in late situations made it a tough fit at times, setting the stage for Louis Varland to take over.
A former reliever with the Phillies, Hoffman was originally a draft pick by the Jays in 2014 but was later dealt to the Colorado Rockies in a swap that brought Troy Tulowitzki to Toronto.
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Bombastic relationship with Toronto fan base
Hoffman had a bombastic relationship with the fan base in his time in Toronto as he struggled for consistency as a closer. The most excruciating of those, of course, came in the World Series with the game-tying home run he allowed to the Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning of Game 7 that the Jays would go on to lose in extras.
Once Varland secured the ultimate high-leverage spot, however, Hoffman was considered expendable.
Of the prospects the Jays are getting in return, Hill is the highest regarded. A fireballing lefty, Hill is listed as the Twins’ No. 7 prospect on MLB Pipeline.
Shortly before the deal was announced, MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson reported that Hoffman was hugging teammates in the visitor’s clubhouse at Daikin Park in Houston, where the Blue Jays were set to open a three-game series Monday night.
The deal capped a busy day for Atkins as the deadline remake unfolded with both a buyer feel at times and a seller at others. Less than an hour before the deadline, outfielder Daulton Varsho was sent to the Astros, and Sunday night, popular starter Kevin Gausman was sent to the Chicago Cubs.
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