Blue Jays Make Jeff Hoffman Change After Struggles: ‘I’m Pitching No Matter What’

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 24: Jeff Hoffman #23 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks on from the dugout prior to Game One of the 2025 World Series presented by Capital One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Friday, October 24, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

MLB Photos via Getty Images

The Toronto Blue Jays earned a much needed win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.

After entering the season with high expectations, thanks to a World Series run last year and a blockbuster offseason of veteran additions, the Blue Jays haven’t quite lived up to the hype. The team has suffered a losing record amid a startling series of early-season injuries to key players and the win offered some encouragement.

“The Blue Jays didn’t just need Tuesday’s 9-7 win in 10 innings to open a long road trip, they needed a win that felt like Blue Jays baseball, an identity they’ve been grasping for but have rarely grabbed with both hands this season,” Keegan Matheson wrote for MLB.com.

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But even though the Blue Jays will take any kind of win they can get these days, Tuesday’s game did mark a concerning performance for one key player.

Reliever Jeff Hoffman entered the game with a chance to close out a two-run advantage and he walked three batters to blow the lead. It was one of the few chances that Hoffman has had to earn a save in his second year with the team, following a 4.37 ERA season with the Blue Jays that included blowing Game 7 of the World Series.

Hoffman has a 4.32 ERA in seven games finished for the Blue Jays this season, with just two saves. But even though he struggled last year and has gotten off to a rough start so far in this campaign, Hoffman revealed a significant change that the team believes can lead to better results.

“I’m going to have a number of days where (the team ensures) I’m going to be in there on that day,” Hoffman told the Toronto Star’s Mike Wilner, highlighting a significant difference compared to how most teams only bring in their closers if the game situation calls for it. “I think that’s going to be a huge help, because it’s not necessarily: Are we winning? Are we losing? You saw it last year, there were six days in a row, seven days in a row where it’s not really my situation to throw. And I think me just having that day there, where I’m pitching no matter what, that’ll be huge.”

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Though a closer would have been called in on Tuesday’s game based on the situation, Hoffman did enter Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning despite the fact that the team was losing by a wide margin at the time. He performed well in that outing, with two strikeouts.

Tuesday’s results weren’t particularly encouraging for Hoffman, but there is some data to back up the Blue Jays’ decision to change their approach with their closer.

“Last year, Hoffman pitched five times with at least six days of rest,” Wilner noted. “His control deserted him in those games: six walks against five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. Pitching with four days’ rest, Hoffman posted a 5.40 ERA.”

As the team looks to right the ship in the early season, it can hope that the change will help Hoffman take advantage of save opportunities going forward.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com