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The Toronto Blue Jays are starting to heat up a little bit. It hasn’t been the start Toronto has wanted, sitting at 10-14, the Jays have won four of their last 10 games.
On Friday, the Blue Jays will start a new series against the Cleveland Guardians, but before the series takes place, General Manager Ross Atkins made a massive Jeff Hoffman announcement.
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GettyJeff Hoffman will no longer be the Blue Jays’ closer, according to GM Ross Atkins.
Per multiple sources and reports, Blue Jays’ closer Jeff Hoffman will no longer be used as the team’s primary closer, and they will now shift to a closer-by-committee situation.
Massive news before a big series with playoff contenders in the Guardians, but it’s the right move, as Hoffman has really struggled since blowing the Blue Jays shot at winning the 2025 World Series in game seven.
@thejaysnation wrote (on April 24): “Ross Atkins tells reporters that Jeff Hoffman is no longer the Blue Jays’ closer. They will instead move to a closer-by-committee approach.”
@ArdenZwelling wrote (on April 24): “Asked about Jeff Hoffman’s role as closer, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins says “in the short term we are going to share that responsibility.” Atkins praised Hoffman’s stuff and strikeout rate; but for now, closer role “is going to be something that we work through on a daily basis.”
Jeff Hoffman saved 33 games for the Blue Jays in 2025, but he was still a headache to watch in the ninth inning for Jays fans. He posted an ERA of 4.37 over 71 appearances, walked 27 batters, and surrendered 15 home runs.
GettyJeff Hoffman has blown three saves so far in 2026.
Hoffman should have more success in less-leverage roles, but this batch of news will get a hard reaction because Toronto has poured a lot of money into its bullpen, and they inked Jeff Hoffman to a three-year, $33 million deal before 2025, and it hasn’t panned out as Atkins had hoped.
In 12 appearances and 10.2 innings this season, Jeff Hoffman holds an ERA of 7.59 with just three saves.
Surprise, Hoffman leads MLB with three blown saves, and has other moments where he just doesn’t look effective. Again, it’s mostly been walks and home runs. In the 10+ innings this season, Hoffman has walked six batters and given up two home runs.
CBSSports aggregated the recent news on their sports site:
“Manager John Schneider was noncommittal to Hoffman as Toronto’s closer earlier this week after nearly blowing his fourth save of the season, so it’s not a major surprise the club is making a change. It doesn’t appear to be a full demotion for the 33-year-old right-hander, who recorded 33 saves with a 4.37 ERA during the 2025 regular season, but it also wouldn’t be surprising for him to get some work in lower-leverage spots.”
As for who will fill in for Hoffman, the report says closer-by-committee, so it could be a matchup thing, but my inclination is Louis Varland will likely start getting a lot more ninth-inning appearances.
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