1:50pm: that the Braves offer to Hoffman was a five-year pact valued between $45-48MM total. The idea would have been for Hoffman to get an opportunity to pitch out of the rotation in the seasons first few years before a potential move to the pen down the road. The lengthy nature of the pact suggests that part of the aim was to tamp down the annual value of the contract and thus reduce the luxury hit. 1:25pm: Right-hander signed with the Blue Jays on Friday, with a $33MM guarantee. Shortly after the Jays announced that signing, it was that the Orioles had agreed to give Hoffman $40MM over three years but backed out after flagging a shoulder i sue in his physical. The saga continues today, as reports that the Braves also walked away from a deal with Hoffman. There are no details on Hoffmans agreement with Atlanta. Its unclear if this was before or after the agreement with Baltimore. Its also not publicly known what sort of financials details were worked out between Atlanta and Hoffman. Bowman doesnt specifically mention what i sue Atlanta found in the physical, though its presumably the same shoulder problem that the Os flagged. Its a notable development on a couple of fronts. For fans of the Jays, this will perhaps add to the level of concern that already developed out of the report about the deal with the Os. All teams have different thresholds for what is or is not a concern during a physical, but the fact that two clubs were scared away from Hoffman will understandably be a bit nerve-wracking for fans of the club he is now a member of. It bears repeating that the Orioles didnt want to walk away from Hoffman completely. Per last weeks reporting, Baltimore continued negotiating with Hoffman after nixing the $40MM agreement. That suggests that whatever they found in his shoulder wasnt a dealbreaker, but rather something that lowered the amount of money they were willing to commit to him. Its unknown how much the shoulder i sue knocked off of their offer, but it presumably dropped below the $33MM figure that Hoffman got from Toronto. Time will tell if the shoulder becomes a problem for Hoffman during the next three years, but its a situation that has precedents. is the most notable recent example, as he originally had a 13-year, $350MM agreement with the Giants before they Solomon Hill Jersey flagged an ankle i sue in his physical. That led to a 12-year, $315MM agreement with the Mets, though that was also quashed by the ankle i sue. That led Correa back to the Twins on a six-year, $200MM guarantee with four vesting options that can eventually lead to Correa earning $270MM over ten years. Since then, Correas results have been mixed. He got into 135 games in 2o23 with tepid offense, followed by excellent numbers in 2024 but in just 86 games, heading to the injured list due to a right oblique strain and plantar fasciitis in his right foot. There have been other examples of disagreements about health lately. The Yankees reportedly had a deal in place to acquire at last years deadline but walked away due to concerns about his back in the medical reports. The Dodgers seemingly had le s concern, as they swooped in to get him. Flaherty went on to stay healthy, forming a key part of the clubs rotation down the stretch and through the playoffs as the Dodgers won the World Series. This Hoffman situation also has some parallels to Torontos signing of a few years ago. Going into 2021, the Jays gave Yates a $5.5MM guarantee with performance bonuses but he required Tommy John surgery and mi sed the entire season. In the wake of that surgery, it was that Atlanta had walked away from giving Yates a $9MM deal while the Jays also reduced their guarantee from $8.5MM, both due to concerns with the physical. The Jays reportedly believed that Yatess upside was worth the risk on that modest investment, which didnt work out. In this instance, its unclear if the concern is as high as it was with Yates, though the investment is far larger. Though as mentioned, the Os were still willing to make some kind of investment in Hoffman as well, to an unknown degree. For Atlanta, while the details of their engagement with Hoffman arent known, this can perhaps tell us a bit about whats next for them. If they had an agreement with Hoffman, it was likely somewhere in the $35-45MM range. That suggests both that they have some money to spend and a willingne s to use it on upgrading the pitching staff. Hoffman reportedly got some interest as a starting pitching earlier in the offseason. Its unknown which role Atlanta had in mind, though they did do the reliever-to-starter conversion thing with last year. They signed Lpez to a three-year, $30MM deal and then moved him to the rotation for the 2024 season. That has worked out very well so far, as Lpez posted a 1.99 earned run average in his 25 starts last year. A rotation addition seems to be on the to-do list for Atlanta again this winter. They lost and to other clubs via free agency and were connected to earlier this winter, though he later re-signed with the Rangers. On the other hand, the bullpen lost , and others to free agency, while knee surgery is going to po sibly keep on the IL for the whole 2025 season. Atlanta has been fairly quiet this winter, mostly making cost-cutting moves. That includes jettisoning s contract, non-tendering , turning down an option on and restructuring the deals for Lpez and . Its unclear exactly where they want the payroll to be but currently projects it at $201MM, about $22MM below last years $223MM Opening Day figure listed at . RR also has Atlantas competitive balance tax number at $217MM, which is $24MM shy of the $241MM base threshold of the tax. Atlanta has paid the tax in each of the past two years. Back in December, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos the club could pay the tax again in 2025, though without firmly declaring that they would do so. Given the wiggle room they currently have, its po sible for them to make a notable investment or two while still staying south of the line. Hoffman could have been a part of their plans, either for the rotation or the bullpen, though they will now have the chance to redirect that money to someone else. The free agent market still features starters like Flaherty, and others, as well as relievers including , , and more. The trade market may feature names like and as rotation options, while and are some relievers who could be available in trade talks. Jaylen Adams Jersey