Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jeff Hoffman. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Blue Jays make needed change at closer

By David Hill | Last updated Apr 24, 2026 5:42 PM ET

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jeff Hoffman had struggled to begin the season, turning the ninth inning into an adventure. The Blue Jays are finally doing something about that.

Keegan Matheson from MLB.com reported that the Blue Jays are removing Hoffman from the closer role. He will work in lower-leverage situations with an eye to eventually returning to a higher-leverage spot in the bullpen. The Blue Jays will use a closer by committee approach in the interim.

Hoffman forced the Blue Jays' hand with a disastrous outing on April 21. He entered the game with a 4-1 lead in the ninth inning and allowed a run on two hits and two hit batters while recording one out via strikeout.

Louis Varland came in to record the final two outs en route to his first career save.

News: Jeff Hoffman is out as the #BlueJays’ closer.

They’ll go with a closer by committee for now while Hoffman works on things in lower-leverage spots.
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) April 24, 2026

Toronto Blue Jays may find in-house solution to ninth-inning woes

Hoffman has not been the same pitcher since a dominant six-week stretch to begin the 2025 season. He has been particularly abysmal this season, posting a 7.59 ERA and a 2.063 WHIP over his 10.2 innings, striking out 24 batters with six walks.

Varland could prove to be the answer in the ninth inning even if Hoffman gets back on track. He is in the midst of a breakout season, having yet to allow any earned runs while posting a 0.846 WHIP over his 13 innings, striking out 19 batters with three walks.

The Blue Jays find themselves 5.5 games out of first place entering Friday. A change in the closer role was needed to keep the season from completely slipping away.

David Hill

Based in the mountains of Vermont, Dave has over a decade of experience writing about all things baseball. Just don't ask his thoughts on the universal DH.

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