Blue Jays demote Jeff Hoffman from closer role after early struggles, World Series infamy

The Toronto Blue Jays stuck with Jeff Hoffman as their closer after his blown save in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. But that patience has apparently reached its limit.

Blue Jays manager Ross Atkins told reporters Friday the team is demoting Hoffman from the closer role and will instead employ a closer-by-committee approach for the time being, according to MLB.com’s Jason Foster.

He reportedly insisted Hoffman would still be part of the late-inning mix:

“In the short term, we are going to share that [closing] responsibility," Atkins said. "He's still going to be getting very important outs for us, and I very much believe in him as a weapon for us.”

The decision comes after a miserable start to the season for Hoffman, who holds a 7.59 ERA through 12 appearances and has converted only three of six save opportunities. He is one of four relievers tied for the MLB lead in blown saves with three.

There’s also the lingering specter of his blown save last October, when he surrendered a game-tying home run to Los Angeles Dodgers veteran Miguel Rojas in the most painful loss in Blue Jays history. But the franchise had stood by him as closer until Friday.

Hoffman is in the second year of his three-year, $33 million contract with the Blue Jays, which he signed after a strong run with the Philadelphia Phillies. He posted a 4.37 ERA in 59 appearances last year.

Is Jeff Hoffman just unlucky?

We’ll say this, it hasn’t been all bad for Hoffman.

He’s actually striking out batters at an elite rate of 42.1%, which is the second-best mark in all of baseball among pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched. Less good (but still not awful) is a 10.5% walk rate. What’s actually going wrong for him is that batters are simply getting way more hits and homers than usual when they put the ball in play.