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Sounds like Toronto Blue Jays might choose another closer next season

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Nov 7 2025, 5:31 pm
Sounds like Toronto Blue Jays might choose another closer next season
Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays don’t appear to be fully sold on having Jeff Hoffman serve as their closer for the 2026 season.

Last offseason, the Blue Jays landed Jeff Hoffman as a free agent on a three-year, $33-million deal. The 32-year-old was coming off two strong seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, the second of which saw him named to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career.

Hoffman immediately took over as the Blue Jays’ closer, though it wasn’t as smooth sailing as either party would have hoped. Through 68 innings in the regular season, he had a disappointing 4.37 ERA while giving up a staggering 15 home runs. He had given up just nine long balls in total over the prior two seasons with the Phillies.

In Hoffman’s defence, he was much better in the playoffs, though one memory that will haunt him and Blue Jays fans forever was a home run he allowed to Miguel Rojas in the bottom of the ninth inning. It came with the Jays needing just two more outs to win the World Series.

Given his struggles throughout the regular season and inability to close out the World Series, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins didn’t rule out going with a new closer for 2026 when asked about it on Thursday.

“The great thing about Jeff is he’s not married to [being a closer],” Atkins said. “Talking about that cohesion and that team approach, he epitomizes it. I think he would be open to anything that makes us better.”

As far as internal solutions go, one can’t help but wonder if Louis Varland gets an opportunity. The 27-year-old was a workhorse out of the bullpen for the Blue Jays throughout the playoffs, and can touch 100 mph on his fastball.

There are several intriguing options on the free-agent market as well. Edwin DĂ­az, Robert Suarez, and Raisel Iglesias are all strong closers, while Ryan Helsley and Devin Williams are strong bounce-back candidates.

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