Blue Jays bullpen showing cracks in August

Varland’s struggles have primarily come against his off-speed pitches, as he’s allowed home runs off his knuckle curve and slider during the recent rough patch. It’s still way too premature to panic about Varland, but the Blue Jays might need to make some adjustments to his pitch mix to get the talented right-hander back on track.

Domínguez, meanwhile, came to the Blue Jays with electric stuff, but a long track record of struggling to command it. So far, he’s been exactly as advertised. Domínguez has 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings as a Blue Jay, but has also issued seven walks with a 5.19 ERA across 10 appearances. Left-handed batters are hitting a robust .293 against Domínguez, while righties are struggling to the tune of a .133 batting average. Those jarring platoon splits will make utilizing Domínguez more tricky down the stretch and into the postseason as the Blue Jays look to avoid exposing him to too many left-handed hitters.

Left-hander Brendon Little was a poster boy for the bullpen’s surprising success in the first half, posting a 4-1 record with a 2.03 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 44 1/3 innings. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, Little’s been a completely different pitcher in the second half. The 29-year-old owns a 6.97 ERA with nine walks in 10 1/3 innings over 15 appearances since the All-Star break. His curveball hasn’t been quite as sharp, leading opposing hitters to lay off of it.

Like Little, right-hander Yariel Rodríguez put together an impressive first half of the season, registering a 2.47 ERA in 39 appearances. However, Rodríguez has a 6.00 ERA with eight strikeouts and nine walks in 12 innings since the All-Star break. The 28-year-old had a particularly rough seven-game stretch, posting an 11.37 ERA and 2.53 WHIP with eight walks in 6 1/3 innings.

The bullpen’s malaise has also impacted closer Jeff Hoffman at times. Hoffman had a prolific meltdown with five walks against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but followed it up with a dominant four-game stretch. On the whole, Hoffman’s been one of the better Blue Jays relievers since the All-Star break, pitching to a 1.42 ERA with 20 strikeouts, five walks, and a 0.87 WHIP in 13 appearances. The calls for a change in the closer’s spot have gone quiet with Varland struggling and Hoffman dominating with nine strikeouts and zero walks over his last four scoreless appearances.

The bullpen has also been missing a long-relief option, something that could be rectified, at least temporarily, by bumping Eric Lauer out of the rotation. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the situation remains fluid, but Lauer will be available out of the bullpen for this weekend’s series in Miami against the Marlins.

The Blue Jays don’t have many options other than sticking with the bullpen group that’s been more good than bad in 2025. It’s hard not to be at least a little concerned about the recent rough patch, but the Blue Jays need to find a way to get some of their bullpen arms back on track in short order. Their hopes of holding onto the AL East lead and going on a run in October might depend on it.