Toronto’s Jeff Hoffman has no hard feelings facing his former Phillies teammates

TORONTO — When Orion Kerkering was called up for his major league debut in September 2023, he knew he had at least one friendly face awaiting him in the Phillies clubhouse.

The Phillies scout who had identified Kerkering, Bryce Harman, was college teammates with Jeff Hoffman at East Carolina. Harman texted Hoffman that day to let him know to look out for the young reliever, who had ascended from low-A to the big leagues in a single year.

Hoffman was amid his own meteoric rise from minor league signee to one of the most trusted high-leverage arms in the Phillies’ bullpen. When Kerkering arrived, they had lockers right next to each other.

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Now, they play in different countries.

“It’s that friendship that you always want to have,” Kerkering said Tuesday. “It’s like someone’s still in your corner, even though they’re not, per se, on the same team. But it’s always good to have that kind of person.”

This week’s series in Toronto served as a reunion between Hoffman, who signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Blue Jays over the winter, and some old friends in the Phillies bullpen. Ahead of Tuesday’s series opener, Hoffman spent some time catching up with Kerkering and Matt Strahm on the Rogers Centre outfield turf.

“I try to keep up with everybody,” Hoffman said. “Obviously, we’ve got our own stuff going on here, so I’ve got to kind of have my priorities, but I feel like every night I’m pretty much checking box scores and seeing who got in there, who didn’t, and how everybody’s doing. Orion is doing what Orion does. He’s going to be good for a long time.”

Kerkering, 24, said the biggest lesson he learned from Hoffman, 32, was to never quit, based on the ups and downs Hoffman has experienced in his career.

“Don’t let anyone tell you no,” Kerkering said. “You should still have that fun mentality and just go do what you love.”

In that way, Hoffman leads by example. He was designated for assignment and nontendered by the Reds in 2022 and spent a month in the Twins’ minor league system before winding up at triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2023. It was a live batting practice session with Bryce Harper, who was working his way back from Tommy John surgery, that ultimately turned some heads and set him on the path to becoming an All-Star in 2024.

» READ MORE: From 2023: ‘My stuff hasn’t been this good since I left college’: How Jeff Hoffman improved at 30

When he reached free agency this offseason, Hoffman initially hoped to re-sign in Philadelphia. He said as much after the Phillies were eliminated in the National League Division Series last season, but he thought that there wasn’t much interest on the other side.

“I definitely knew that as the season went on and an extension wasn’t happening that it was less and less likely that I would be back there,” Hoffman said. “I did definitely want to be back, and the offseason was kind of crazy. It was a lot of negotiating and not negotiating and down periods and then getting back into it with a different team.

“Every step of the way, they were pretty light. It was pretty clear early on that they weren’t going to be in the right type of competitive market that we were looking for.”

The Phillies ultimately signed Jordan Romano, functionally swapping closers with the Blue Jays. And the relievers have had practically inverse trajectories with their new teams.

While Hoffman started off dominant for Toronto, he was inconsistent when the calendar flipped to May. Hoffman allowed five homers last month after allowing six all of last season. Meanwhile, Romano was unpredictable to start the season but has started to find his footing. His ERA in May was 2.53, compared to his 12.96 mark in April.

“A little bit of a rocky road,” Hoffman said. “Dealt with some mechanical stuff and what we feel like over the last two weeks, we’ve gotten in a good spot. I feel good about where we’re at now.”

Before Hoffman agreed to terms with Toronto, Baltimore and Atlanta backed out of deals with him because of concerns over his medical records. At the time, Hoffman said he’d be extra motivated facing those teams, and he clearly has been — he blew a kiss at the Orioles dugout after closing them out in a game in April.

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But there aren’t the same hard feelings with the Phillies, Hoffman said. While there already has been some lighthearted trash-talking with Kerkering and Strahm, he’s not expecting to show off his petty side to his former team.

“I’m really thankful and grateful for the opportunity that they gave me and that allowed me to do what I’ve what I’ve done and come here and make some money and put my family in a great position to be successful moving forward,” Hoffman said. “I owe a lot of that to them, and I definitely wouldn’t be here without that.”