Can Toronto Blue Jays trust Jeff Hoffman down the stretch and into playoffs?
Jeff Hoffman’s first season with the Toronto Blue Jays hasn’t been all bad, but rather tumultuous.
The 32-year-old closer, who was originally drafted ninth overall by the Blue Jays in 2014, marked the first big get for Ross Atkins last offseason, as he agreed to a three-year, $30-million deal. There was plenty of excitement around the deal, as Hoffman was coming off a 2024 season in which he put up a 2.17 ERA and appeared in the first All-Star game of his career.
While the Blue Jays as a whole have been outstanding on the year with an AL East-best 69-50 record, Hoffman has been rather mediocre.
While he ranks sixth among all closers with 26 saves on the season, Hoffman’s 4.50 ERA is significantly worse than other pitchers who are high up on the saves leaderboard.
Hoffman has also given up 10 home runs in just 48 innings. Only three MLB relievers have served up more long balls this season, including Chad Green, who had given up a league-leading 14 before being released by the Blue Jays earlier this month.
Hoffman’s latest performance was one of particular concern. Tasked to close out a game versus the LD Dodgers, he instead walked five while getting just two outs. Instead, it was Mason Fluharty who came in and saved the day, getting Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts out with the bases loaded to preserve the win.
While there is still some time remaining between now and the playoffs for Hoffman to try and find some more consistency, his play to this point in the season has instilled little confidence that he can get things done in big moments. Should these struggles continue for much longer, there could be talk about handing off the closing role to somebody else.