Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Jeff Hoffman will not pitch on Wednesday because he has been used three of the last four days, but the team will “use the off-day to talk about (role) with him.”
Schneider claimed that he doesn’t want to make a knee-jerk decision, but “we’ll re-evaluate everything, talk with him, see how he’s doing. He’s going through it, obviously, a little bit.” Nothing is certain, but that does sound like a manager who is thinking about giving his closer a break from high-leverage innings while they try to figure out how to help him. “How can we be there to support you? How can we help you get ahead of hitters? Is it mechanical? Is it between the ears a little bit? What’s going on and how can we help?” We still believe the Blue Jays would like to have Hoffman close, so he could easily return to the role if the team figures out what’s going on, but Louis Varland needs to be added in all formats in case the Blue Jays do decide to give Hoffman a break from closing games.
