Despite his struggles and some of the criticism from fans, Toronto Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman still has the support of manager John Schneider.

Pitching in the eighth inning of a tie game on Saturday night, Hoffman surrendered two singles and a walk before giving up a go-ahead grand slam to Arizona Diamondbacks star Corbin Carroll. That broke the 2-2 tie and the D'backs went onto win 6-2. Toronto is now 7-13, one of its worst starts in team history.

The 33-year-old Hoffman is now 1-2 this season with a 7.71 ERA. He has two saves and a WHIP over two.

Nobody in baseball has blown more saves since Hoffman arrived in Toronto before the 2025 season. He went 9-7 with a 4.37 ERA in 2025, saving 33 games.

Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com:

John Schneider: “I know there may be people who don’t want to hear this, but I’ve got a lot of trust and confidence in Jeff Hoffman.” “If there’s a situation to close out a game, I’ll take Jeff Hoffman.” #BlueJays

Part of what helps a manager earn respect from a clubhouse is how they support their players in the face of difficult circumstances. That's what Schneider is doing.

He briefly removed Hoffman from the closer's role last season, and he'll undoubtedly do it again if he feels its necessary, but there's really no point in airing things out publicly right now.

His players ultimately will respect that, which is part of the reason why Schneider is a popular manager.

An 11-year veteran of the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Rockies, Hoffman transitioned to a full-time reliever in 2022. He's gone 33-35 for his career with a 4.81 ERA. He was a dominant set-up man with the Phillies before signing a three-year deal with Toronto before the 2025 campaign. 

Hoffman does have a whopping 20 strikeouts in just 9.1 innings, showing the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that usually does work at the back end of a bullpen. Obviously, some things need to be ironed out, but the raw stuff is still there.

Hoffman's 43.6 percent whiff rate has him in the 99th percentile, per Baseball Savant. His 41.7 strikeout rate is also in the 99th percentile. Those are undoubtedly good starting points as the Jays look to get him back on track.

Kevin Gausman takes the mound for Toronto against right-hander Ryne Nelson. Gausman is 0-1 with a 2.42 ERA. Game time is 4:10 p.m. ET.

Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!