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There had been talk earlier in the off-season that Hoffman was looking to become a starting pitcher as part of his next deal. But, in a statement that announced the signing, Jays general manager Ross Atkins made it clear the club intends to use him in the ninth inning.

“We are excited to add Jeff to our bullpen,” Atkins said. “His arsenal, strike-throwing and ability to miss bats against all types of hitters is elite and will undoubtedly make us better. Jeff will get an opportunity to close games for us this season. His track record, competitiveness, and experience make him a great complement to this group.”

Hoffman has essentially traded spots with Jordan Romano. The former Jays closer was non-tendered in November before signing a one-year deal worth $8.5 million to take Hoffman’s place in Philadelphia. Since the start of 2022, Hoffman has a 2.70 ERA with 203 strikeouts in 163 1/3 innings while Romano has a 2.90 ERA and 158 strikeouts over 136 2/3 innings.

The numbers suggest the Jays got an upgrade over what they had before, but the question is will they get improved health? Romano missed most of last season with an elbow issue.  Friday that Hoffman had a $40-million deal with the Baltimore Orioles fall apart recently because of medical concerns about his right shoulder.

The shoulder issue might explain why Hoffman didn’t land a starting job. The nine-year veteran has been a full-time reliever since 2022 and he has limited closer’s experience, with 12 career saves. Most of his work last season came in a set-up role, where he finished with 21 holds.

This marks a homecoming of sorts for Hoffman. The former standout at East Carolina University was taken by the Jays with the ninth pick of the 2014 draft. He was with the organization barely a year before he was shipped off alongside Jose Reyes in the trade with the Colorado Rockies for Troy Tulowitzki.

Hoffman, who throws 97 m.p.h., returns to anchor a bullpen that features Yimi Garcia and Chad Green in high-leverage roles. Erik Swanson, recent addition Nick Sandlin, Zach Pop and Brendon Little likely will be in middle relief. That leaves one spot for Ryan Burr, Josh Walker, Easton Lucas and others.

MLBTradeRumors ranked Hoffman the 18th-best free agent available in this year’s class. He was projected to sign a four-year contract worth $44 million, which makes this one of the first deals involving a premium free agent that fell below estimates. It’s also lower than the three-year deal worth $38 million that Clay Holmes signed with the Mets. Hoffman is coming off the better year of the two relievers, but Holmes will start in 2025.

If his shoulder stays healthy, and that might be a big if, the addition of Hoffman is a solid move and one that improves a Jays bullpen that had the second-highest ERA in the majors last season. There’s still room for one more addition, but the Jays should feel good about where they are now compared to where they were in September.

The same cannot be said about the rest of the roster. Beyond adding defensive standout Andrés Giménez, the Jays have done nothing to address an offence that requires a couple of big additions. There also is a noticeable lack of starting pitching depth and questions about whether No. 5 man Yariel Rodriguez is ready to handle a full workload.

How much money the Jays have remaining to fill those gaps is unknown. According to FanGraphs Roster Resource, the Jays currently have a projected competitive tax payroll of $238.6 million, which is just $2.4 million below the tax threshold. They were approximately $10 million above the tax last season before shedding salary at the trade deadline.

Something in the range of $12 million might be suitable to sign a spare outfielder like Alex Verdugo, but it wouldn’t come close to adding a primary piece like Anthony Santander, Alex Bregman or Pete Alonso. Based on the needs of the roster and the depth of the AL East, that’s a problem.

The Jays entered this off-season needing a new left fielder, designated hitter, third baseman and multiple relievers. So far, all they’ve done is add a second baseman in Giménez, pushing out promising rookie Will Wagner, and swap Romano for a reliever they already had.

That’s not going to turn a 74-win last-place team into a 90-plus win contender. The addition of Hoffman was nice and, assuming the medical staff can be trusted, it came at a reasonable price, but this team better have money left to buy some bats. Otherwise it might not have enough ninth-inning leads to protect.