Whether it’s a World Series hangover, slow start, or a case of letting the players settle into some new roles, the Toronto Blue Jays haven’t exactly set the world ablaze to start the 2026 MLB campaign.
Currently sitting at 10-14 on the season, the reigning American League champions have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on a few occasions this season. While not all of that can be attributed to closer Jeff Hoffman’s poor start, the veteran reliever certainly hasn’t been sharp in the early going.
With as many blown saves (3) as saves, an inflated 7.59 ERA, and 2.06 WHIP and -0.6 WAR, the 6’5″ righty was removed from the closer role on Friday in an effort to reset and regain his form. Hoffman was disappointed, but understood the rationale behind GM Ross Atkins decision to explore other 9th inning options when he spoke to reporters.
“Whatever puts the team in the best position to win. Right now, that’s not me there. We can re-evaluate periodically,” he said.
While he may not be closing out games, the team has no intention of removing him from the late inning mix at the moment. Atkins told members of the media that for now, the team will ride the hot hand and play matchups until Hoffman can right the ship.
“In the short term, we are going to share that [closing] responsibility,” Atkins said. “He’s still going to be getting very important outs for us, and I very much believe in him as a weapon for us…The way I think about Jeff and his situation is, I immediately think that we need to be better as an organization in the deployment of his arsenal and how we’re helping him, putting him in situations [to] be successful, because of how good he has been and still is.”
While the Jays have yet to anoint a new closer, Louis Varland seems to have the inside track to get the first crack at closing out games. Braydon Fisher, Tyler Rogers, and Mason Fluharty are all options as well, as manager John Schneider could opt for a mix and match approach depending on the batter.
Toronto won’t have long to worry about it, as their next opportunity to pick up a win comes Friday night against the visiting Cleveland Guardians. First pitch takes place at 7:07pm ET.
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.