PHOENIX — Pitcher Andrew Hoffmann thought he was headed back to the major leagues after getting pulled from the Triple-A Omaha bullpen during a road game in Syracuse on July 26.
Instead, he was informed he had been traded by the Kansas City Royals to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Randal Grichuk. Thus began an odyssey that comes from the logistical complications of being traded midseason.
Hoffmann went back to Kansas City to get his car off the tarmac because he had pitched in a major league game for the Royals five days before getting optioned.
From there, he had to clear out his apartment in Omaha before joining the Triple-A Reno Aces on a road trip in Las Vegas. His car was being shipped to Reno, but he never made it to Reno.
After one road appearance for the Aces, Hoffmann was recalled on Monday by the Diamondbacks and had to fly from Las Vegas to Phoenix.
“Just a ton of travel over the past week,” Hoffmann said. “I’m super excited to be here.”
Situations vary.
Fellow Diamondbacks rookie and trade deadline acquisition Tyler Locklear had a much simpler process.
He had been recalled by the Mariners before getting traded and was already in Sacramento, where the D-backs arrived that very night to start their next series against the Athletics. Locklear said all of his stuff was in Tacoma.
At least Hoffmann returned to a familiar place.
Hoffmann and his fiancée have lived in the Valley over the past two offseasons with the Royals’ spring training complex located in Surprise.
“When I called her and told her, she was like, ‘Oh my God, we get to live at home,’” Hoffmann said. “We’ve rented the past couple years, and we really do enjoy Arizona a lot. … I’m excited to be closer to Scottsdale and I’m super excited to be here.”
He had not been in Phoenix in the summer before, so that part is a slight change.
Hoffmann was traded earlier in his career from the Atlanta Braves to Kansas City, so he’d been through a version of this process before.
The Diamondbacks recalled the 25-year-old right-hander while placing reliever Kevin Ginkel on the injured list with a right shoulder sprain.
Hoffmann had made three MLB appearances with Kansas City but has pitched well in the minor leagues with a 2.14 ERA in 42 innings.
He tinkered with a new kick changeup over the offseason, which he credited with helping him this year.
“It’s not a different game,” Hoffmann said he’s learned from his first MLB experience. “It’s just the mistakes are different. You have to really hone in on your mistakes.”
Hoffmann delivered 1.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts in his Diamondbacks debut on Monday against the San Diego Padres.
