Hoffman is being pursued by some teams in free agency as a starting pitcher, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Hoffman, who turns 32 in January, broke out as a full-time reliever the last two seasons with the Phillies, posting a 2.28 ERA and 158:35 K:BB over 118.2 innings. He does have plenty of past experience as a starter and throws four pitches, so some clubs are intrigued by the possibility of giving him another shot to start. It's not clear what Hoffman's preference is -- or if he has one -- but he should be able to land a nice multi-year contract either way.
Phillies' Jeff Hoffman: Misses workout with stiff neck
Rotowire
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Hoffman didn't pitch in a simulated game Wednesday due to a stiff neck, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Thomson said holding Hoffman back was precautionary, adding that he expects the reliever to be "fine" for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday. Hoffman will be a high-leverage reliever for the Phillies this postseason following a regular season which saw him collect a 2.17 ERA and 89:16 K:BB over 66.1 innings.
Hoffman struck out one in a perfect inning to earn the save in Thursday's 5-4 win over Atlanta.
Both Hoffman and Carlos Estevez had gone two days without pitching, so it's unclear why Hoffman got the save chance in this outing. This was his fourth scoreless outing in a row, and he's allowed three runs over 9.1 innings across his last 11 appearances since a four-run meltdown at Seattle on Aug. 3. Hoffman hadn't logged a save since July 10, and it's unclear if this signals a changing in the bullpen hierarchy or not, though manager Rob Thomson is known to prefer a committee for closing duties. For the year, Hoffman has a 1.92 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 74:15 K:BB through 56.1 innings while adding 10 saves and 17 holds.
