Minnesota finished deadline day by landing the strikeout reliever its bullpen was missing, and the general manager explained what made him the target.
The Minnesota Twins saved their biggest deadline addition for the back of the bullpen.
Before Monday's deadline passed, the front office sent pitching prospect Dasan Hill, right-hander John Klein, infielder Dameury Pena and international bonus pool space to Toronto for reliever Jeff Hoffman and cash.
The deal completed a bullpen rebuild underway since the beginning of July, and general manager Jeremy Zoll explained why the 33 year old right-hander, a former All-Star, was the arm his club wanted most.
An Arm the Twins Lacked
Hoffman gives Minnesota a swing and miss presence it did not have on the right side of its pen.
He has piled up 75 strikeouts in 48 innings this season, a rate of 14.1 per nine, to go with a 3.94 ERA over 51 appearances for the Blue Jays.
He also closed in Toronto last season and finished with 33 saves, giving him 50 for his career, so the ninth inning will not feel new to him.
"Being able to add someone as a right-handed reliever that's running it up there in the upper 90s with a really good breaking ball, that's what you're looking for when you're trying to improve the back end of a pen," Zoll said. "He checks so many boxes in that regard."
Yoendrys Gomez and Andrew Morris have been effective finishing games for the Twins, but neither one misses bats at that rate, and manager Derek Shelton now has a third trusted late inning option.
More Than a Rental
This was not a short term fix either.
Hoffman is in the second year of a three year, $33 million contract and cannot reach free agency until after the 2027 season, which means Minnesota added him for two playoff pushes rather than two months.
The club had already picked up righty Tommy Nance from Toronto, lefty A.J. Minter from the Mets and starter Dean Kremer from Baltimore.
Zoll said before the deadline that the Twins planned to add rather than sell, and per Leach, the moves showed a willingness to spend that has not always been present in Minnesota.
The cost was a bit large, since Hill and Klein came out of a farm system whose depth had been called the club's biggest trade chip, but a contender should pay real prices in a race this close, and this one finally did.
Wild Card Race Within Reach
Minnesota sits at 56-57, third in the American League Central and one game out of the final wild card spot, a margin one dominant reliever can swing over the final two months.
The schedule cooperates too, because the Twins open a three game series at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night against a last place Royals club they beat on a Royce Lewis walk off in late July, before heading to Milwaukee on Friday.
Tight games decide races like this one, and tight games are exactly where a strikeout arm with closing experience earns his money.
The front office did its part this past week.
Starting Tuesday night in Kansas City, the roster gets its chance to prove the investment was worth it.
