It was evident through the offseason that the Blue Jays were looking for late bullpen help, but Hoffman has helped quell any worries thus far.
In the early portions of the Major League Baseball offseason, it was evident that the Toronto Blue Jays were looking for back-end of the bullpen help.
They were linked to guys like Raisel Iglesias before he signed with the Atlanta Braves and Edwin Diaz before he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The only real question was: were the Blue Jays looking to find an eighth-inning reliever while leaving Jeff Hoffman in the ninth, or did they want to put Hoffman in the eighth and bring someone new in for the ninth?
Given that Hoffman pitched to a 4.37 ERA, allowed 15 home runs and blew the save in Game 7 of the World Series in 2025, it was a fair question to ask, but regardless of what they wanted initially, it's ended up being the latter scenario. Toronto signed Tyler Rogers for a set-up role with Hoffman staying in the closer's role.
And so far, Hoffman has proven the Blue Jays right.
Though the injury bug has caused the team to struggle (6-9) as a whole through the first three weeks, Hoffman has been solid. He's 1-1 through eight appearances, pitching to a 2.35 ERA and leading the league in games finished (7). He's struck out 17 batters in just 7.2 innings, demonstrating the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that teams salivate over at the end of contests. He has allowed just two earned runs, one homer and only two walks.
As for Rogers? He's also been excellent, throwing 7.2 scoreless innings and striking out five.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) pitches to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the ninth inning at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn ImagesAbout Hoffman
Now 33 years old, Hoffman is a 10-year veteran of the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Blue Jays. Originally drafted by Toronto, he was dealt to Colorado in the Troy Tulowitzki deal from 2015.
Initially a starter, Hoffman became more of a reliever in the COVID 2020 season. He still started 11 games for the 2021 Reds, but he's blossomed into an excellent full-time reliever since then.
He made 54 appearances for the 2023 Phillies and 68 for the 2024 Phillies before joining the Blue Jays in 2025 on a three-year contract. He was 9-7 with that 4.37 ERA, registering 33 saves. He struck out 84 batters in 68.0 innings.
He pairs with Rogers and Louis Varland to make up a formidable back-end of the Toronto bullpen.
What's next
The Blue Jays will take on the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at 7:40 p.m. ET. Kevin Gausman pitches against Jacob Misiorowski.
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