MINNEAPOLIS — Jeff Hoffman is headed to Minnesota after being traded from Toronto, but it won’t be the first time he will put on a Twins uniform.

The Twins have a little history with their new late-inning reliever (we’ll call him that until the Twins admit he’s their closer) from the 30 days he was with the organization in 2023.

Hoffman signed a minor league contract on Feb. 27 that year. He would have earned $1.3 million if he had made the team. His fastball averaged 94.3 miles an hour the previous season in Cincinnati and he had been in the majors for seven years.

Twins bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins was at spring training that year in a special assistant role. Fun fact: The two were in the same trade between the Rockies and Blue Jays in 2015. Hawkins and Troy Tulowitzki went to Toronto while Hoffman was the touted prospect in a package bound for Colorado.

Hoffman said three years ago he chose the Twins because they had a chance to win: “Of the teams that were interested in me, this felt like the place where I was going to have the most fun.”

As it turned out, Hoffman was at the cusp of becoming a pound-the-strike-zone reliever with a refined repertoire.

Hoffman made four spring training appearances, giving up two runs in his first outing before tossing three scoreless innings. He walked three and struck out eight in five innings.

So he didn’t pitch his way out of camp. The Twins were comfortable with what they had in the bullpen. Jhoan Duran was the closer. The right-handers were Emilio Pagán, Griffin Jax, Jorge López, Jorge Alcala and Cole Sands. Caleb Thielbar and Jovani Morán were the lefties.

Hoffman was sent to minor league camp on March 25. He had an opt-out clause in his deal, and the Twins released him three days later.

The Phillies then signed Hoffman to a minor league deal. In late April, he was asked to come to Philadelphia and throw to Bryce Harper, who was working his way back from Tommy John surgery. Hoffman sizzled against the All-Star. He had a May 1 opt-out in his contract. The Phillies called him up.

A few weeks later, he was pitching in high leverage situations. A year later, he was an All-Star. In 2025, he was back in Toronto and one game away from winning a World Series. He surrendered a tying home run in the ninth inning in Game 7 against the Dodgers, and the Blue Jays went on to lose in extra innings.

It’s hard to lean one way or another. Hoffman could have accepted an assignment to Class AAA St. Paul and forced his way to the majors. A Hoffman-Duran pairing would have given hitters fits. The Twins could have made room for him on the roster.

The sides went their separate ways and fared well. Hoffman became a top reliever. The 2023 Twins won the AL Central and beat Toronto, off all teams, in the first round of the playoffs.

What matters now is, three years later, there is a reunion.

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