The defending 2025 AL Champions, mired in a 10-15 start, are shaking up their bullpen. After three blown saves and an early yank against the Angels on April 21st, the Blue Jays (as covered by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com) announced that Jeff Hoffman is out as closer while the team transitions to a closer-by-committee approach. Righties Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, and Braydon Fisher should be in play for save opportunities. However, Matheson mentions that Varland’s fireman role in the bullpen may preclude him from the ninth in some games.
It’s perhaps an unsurprising development given his early-season performance: an unsightly 7.59 ERA in 10 2/3 innings is hard to stomach from a high-leverage reliever, even for a small sample size. His 6 unintentional walks, 2 HBPs, and a wild pitch underscore his challenge to command the zone and prevent baserunners. However, Hoffman’s stuff remains filthy. His 41.2% strikeout rate is elite. Due to the nature of small sample sizes, relievers’ performances can be extremely volatile, and ERA models like xFIP (1.68) and SIERA (1.93) both think he’s been downright snakebit. Regardless of misfortune, Hoffman’s results have been lacking.
Hoffman put up an excellent run with the Phillies between 2023-2024. Among qualified relievers in that time frame, his 2.28 ERA in 118 2/3 innings was sixth-best in the league. This performance wasn’t a mirage: his 26.0 K-BB% (implying high strikeouts and low walks) and 2.65 SIERA were the fourth and third best marks during that period, respectively. Impressed with the recent body of work, the Blue Jays staked Hoffman to a three-year, $33M deal during the 2024-2025 offseason.
His 2025 was less successful. Hoffman coughed up the most homers he’s ever allowed while pitching exclusively out of the bullpen. His postseason run looked like a return to form, and was quite good on the whole, but Hoffman’s Fall Classic run will likely be most (in)famously remembered for the game-tying home run given up to Miguel Rojas with 1 out in the ninth of Game Seven.
The Blue Jays have some other fantastic options to finish games while their erstwhile closer attempts to figure it out in a lower-leverage setting. Varland has been excellent thus far, boosting his strikeout rate in 2026 by nearly 50% of his career percentage. He seldom walks batters and has yet to have a ball leave the yard this season. He looks very much like last year’s version turned to 11, and should be first-in-line for saves (when available). Varland, in a small sample, has gone 1 for 3 in save opportunities.
Submariner righty Rogers should also be in the mix. While his strikeout numbers are pedestrian, he typically commands the zone well (career 4.5 BB% rate) and is a groundball specialist with a career 57.1 GB% rate. Rogers has had mixed success in the closer role thus far, going 19 for 42 in opportunities. Lesser heralded but still highly effective Fisher could also climb the bullpen pecking order, though he has less experience in higher-leverage situations than Varland and Rogers.
About 7 months too late
What does that even mean?
They would have vet paid or a closer in the off season, and more specifically was alarming enough that they should have traded for a closer before the deadline.
He’s referring to Hoffman’s performance during the World Series last year.
@Acoss1331
It wasn’t just the playoffs/world series. With relievers with more than 10 saves he had a league worst fWAR of -0.4. His other peripherals were just as ghastly. HR/9 of nearly 2 (2nd worst), HR/FB of 20% (worst in baseball), 9th worst FIP, and with a BABIP about 50 points below league average. Having a negative WPA doesn’t help either.
Somebody blow him a kiss goodbye –
He’s still healthy though. Looks like the Os dodged a bullet even if was for the wrong reason.
Louis “closer by commitee” Varland.
Hahaha
Good (better?) luck, Hoff…
Anthopoulos should have a big grin on his face passing on Hoffman.
Yup. AA was smart to back off that one. That was going to be 5 damn years at 50 mil.
Robert Suarez, the flamethrower many Jays fans did not want, is working out for Atlanta so far. Would be nice to have as Yimi is still not close to returning.
Tales of Hoffman
Leave it to Hoffman.
The Hoffman Prophecy
@Dumpster Divin Theo
The good, the Hoffman, and the ugly?
Where does Hoffman go to sleep after visiting his peeps in Schaumburg? Hoffman Estates
It’s about damn time he was taken out of the closers role and I’m still pissed that he gave up that solo homer to such a weak batter in the world series he was one of two people who cost us dearly (IKF) was the other but it is what it is that’s why I gave the Bluejays a B+ in their offseaon report because they failed to get a shutdown closer and I’m also glad it wasn’t Edwin Diaz
This Hoffman is more Ishtar than All the Presidents Men
Mason miller acq seems a lot more palatable in hindsight .