Following another rough outing on Tuesday night, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that the club will “re-evaluate” Jeff Hoffman's role as the team’s closer.
“He’s going through it, obviously, a little bit,” Schneider said on Wednesday before the team’s 7-3 loss to the Angels. “So we’ll see. Use the off-day to talk about it with him.”
Hoffman, 33, has pitched to a 7.59 ERA in 12 games this season. His struggles have compounded lately: He’s been scored upon in three of his past four outings, allowing seven runs in that stretch.
In his last outing against the Angels on Tuesday, Hoffman was tasked with preserving a three-run ninth-inning lead. The right-hander faced five batters and recorded just one out, allowing a pair of singles and hitting two batters. Louis Varland relieved Hoffman and induced a game-ending double play to secure the win.
“That inning started off very instantly,” Schneider said. “And then you kind of see after the first hit-by-pitch, your radar goes up. And after the second one, it was kind of like, ‘All right, let’s figure this out here.’ Closers always get magnified, so we’ll talk about it.”
Hoffman entered play on Wednesday tied for the Major League lead with three blown saves.
“[I will] talk with him, continue to show support for him -- like I’m always going to do, no matter what the outcome -- and try to put him in spots to have success,” Schneider said. “He’s a big boy. He understands that the spotlight’s on a little bit, and rightfully so. So it’s like, 'How can we be there to support you? How can we help you get ahead of hitters? Is it mechanical? Is it between the ears a little bit? What’s going on here, and how can we help?'”
Hoffman is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million contract that he signed with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2025 season. He recorded 33 saves while pitching to a 4.37 ERA in 71 appearances last year, but his otherwise strong postseason will be remembered for the infamous game-tying home run that he surrendered to Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series.
If the Blue Jays decide to make a change at closer, Varland would be the most obvious choice to replace Hoffman. Varland has yet to allow a run in 12 outings this season across a variety of roles, including high-leverage situations.
“With Louis, you’re obviously comfortable,” Schneider said. “If you need him in the ninth, you could use him in the ninth. But sometimes the game could be won or lost in the eighth, top of the order. How do you weigh where to use Louis?”
After an off-day on Thursday, the Blue Jays return home from a nine-game road trip to begin a three-game series with the Guardians on Friday.