The Philadelphia Phillies have added hard-throwing right-handed pitcher Jeff Hoffman to their active roster.
Hoffman exercised an opt-out clause from his minor league deal. He activated his opt-out clause Monday, and that gave the team 48 hours to work out a solution.
To make room for Hoffman, the Phillies optioned right-hander Yunior Marté to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. To create room on the team’s 40-man roster, the Phillies designated pitcher James McArthur for assignment.
Hoffman originally signed a minor league deal with the Twins in the offseason, and that deal had an opt-out clause that he activated when he didn’t make that team out of spring training.
The hard-throwing right-hander then signed a new deal with the Phillies that contained opt-out clauses that could be activated May 1 and July 1.
Hoffman has reportedly been reaching 99 miles per hour with his fastball at the minor league level. He made 9 appearances for Lehigh Valley and he had an ERA of 7.00. He also had a walk rate of 17.9 percent.
Hoffman pitched for the Cincinnati Reds last year, and he had a 3.83 ERA in 44.2 innings. He struck out 45 batters but allowed 23 bases on balls.
Pitcher Jeff Hoffman. Photo courtsey of MLB Trade Rumors – Twitter
