The Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves backed out of agreements to sign Jeff Hoffman because of concerns about the reliever’s pitching shoulder before he finalized a $33 million, three-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays last week.

In a statement, Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Hoffman will get a chance to close games, the role that Jordan Romano filled for most of the last four seasons.

The Toronto Blue Jays are officially taking a big risk with free agent reliever Jeff Hoffman. The hard-throwing reliever, who may end up serving as the Blue Ja