Jeff Hoffman's trade to the Twins is looking shakier by the week for Minnesota.
The Blue Jays sent him away for minor-leaguers Dasan Hill, John Klein, and Dameury Pena at the deadline.
At the time, Minnesota sat three games ahead of Toronto in the standings.
Since then, the Blue Jays have caught and passed the Twins entirely in that race.
Hoffman's numbers with Minnesota haven't been disastrous, but they're a clear step down from what made him so valuable in Toronto.
Since the trade, he's gone 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA over 7.2 innings, allowing seven walks against 10 strikeouts with no home runs.
That's a far cry from the 1.27 ERA he posted in June and July that made him a hot commodity at the deadline.
Why Toronto might quietly be winning this deal
Hoffman has still done his job in the role Minnesota needed, picking up four holds with no blown saves across eight outings.
But he did take the loss in Milwaukee on Aug. 8, entering a tie game in the eighth inning and giving up a run on back-to-back singles.
For a Twins team that traded for bullpen help specifically to hold off Toronto, watching the Blue Jays pass them anyway has to sting.
Dasan Hill, the return piece for Toronto, has already flashed a fastball touching 99 mph in the low minors.
It's early to grade any trade fully, but the standings tell part of the story on their own right now.
Minnesota got the proven arm for its stretch run. Toronto got prospects and, somehow, the better record since the deal closed.
Whether Hoffman rounds back into his June and July form, or Toronto's farm system return ends up being the bigger prize, is still playing out in real time.
Did the Blue Jays win the Jeff Hoffman trade with the Twins?
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