Throughout the 2025 season, many Phillies fans mourned the absence of reliever Jeff Hoffman, who departed to the Blue Jays as a free agent. But the Phillies didn’t go Hoffmanless in 2025, as they (very briefly) had reliever Nolan Hoffman on the roster.
If this name isn’t ringing a bell, that’s not surprising, as Hoffman pitched a solitary inning for the big-league team. The 27-year-old righthander was purchased from the Texas Rangers in June and sent to AAA Lehigh Valley. When the Phillies temporarily
needed a bullpen arm in August, they called upon Hoffman to fill the spot.
On August 18, with the Phillies comfortably ahead of the Seattle Mariners by a score of 12-4, Hoffman was given a chance to make his major league debut. It didn’t go very well, as he allowed three runs thanks to three hits, one walk, and one wild pitch. He was eventually able to finish things off, but the Phillies sent him back to the minors shortly after to make way for the returning Jose Alvarado.
The stats
1 game, 1 IP, 0-0 W-L, 27.00 ERA, 2 K, 1 BB, -0.1 bWAR
What went right
Hoffman pitched well for Lehigh Valley after being acquired. He went 5-0 with a 3.60 ERA and five saves, while striking out 35 batters in 30 innings. He also finally got to make his major league debut, which is an accomplishment in itself.
What went wrong
He was bad with the Rangers, putting up a 5.91 ERA in 22 games. He strikes out a lot of batters, but also walks a bunch of them, with a total of 36 bases on balls issued in 65 innings for the season.
The future with the Phillies
The outlook is generally not great for 28-year-old career minor leaguers. But he did pitch well in the minors after the Phillies purchased him, to the point where they included him on their emergency squad for the playoffs.
He’s got “swing and miss” stuff, so maybe the Phillies will think they can harness it and turn him into a viable reliever. (Hey, Jeff Hoffman mostly came out of nowhere, so maybe the Phillies are some sort of Hoffman whisperers!)
It seems likely that he’ll be back with the Phillies in Spring Training on a minor league deal.
