The Phillies and Rangers hooked up on a minor deal Wednesday that sends right-hander Nolan Hoffman to Philadelphia in exchange for cash considerations. The 27-year-old was not on the Rangers’ 40-man roster, however, the Phillies have added him to their 40-man and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Seattle initially drafted Hoffman in the fifth round of the 2018 Draft out of Texas A&M and lost him to Baltimore in the minor league phase of the 2021 Draft. After three seasons in the Orioles’ minor league system, Hoffman, who has yet to make his MLB debut, became a minor league free agent and signed with the Rangers.
Upon arriving in camp this spring, the Rangers implemented some “tweaks” in Hoffman’s pitch arsenal. Currently, he throws a sinker more than half the time and has upped the velocity on the pitch from 91.9 to 93.3 mph. The Rangers added a cutter to his pitch selection, but Hoffman does not throw it very often in games. Hoffman has cut down on the number of curveballs and changeups that he throws as well. The results of the changes have not been good as Hoffman has gone from a 3.05 ERA in 29 Double-A games and three Triple-A games in 2023 to a 3.88 ERA last season and ballooned to 5.91 in 22 outings – including three as an “opener” – this season at Triple-A Round Rock.
Hoffman is known as a groundball and strikeout pitcher, who struck out hitters at a career-high 28.2-percent rate in 2023 and averages 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings at the Triple-A level. His groundball rate has fallen to 44.6-percent this season after the changes, but was higher in previous seasons.
One thing that Texas did not mess with is Hoffman’s arm slot, which is an extreme sidearm position.
