Jeff

Hoffman

Varland got the nod in the ninth inning to close out the game against the Guardians with a three-run lead. This one nearly got away from him. He recorded one quick out, then gave up a run on three straight hits before striking out the final two batters to preserve the win with his second save. The 28-year-old right-hander had not given up a run going into the day. He figures to remain in the saves mix in part of a committee until Jeff Hoffman gets right and is ready to resume ninth-inning duties.

Jeff Hoffman will attempt to iron out his issues in lower-leverage appearances. The Jays won’t say as such, but this probably makes Louis Varland the favorite for saves. Pitching well for the Jays at the moment are Varland (0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched), Tyler Rogers (0.73 ERA in 12.1 innings pitched) and Braydon Fisher (2.08 ERA in 13 innings pitched) — saves will likely come out of that trio. But Varland is the easy pickup in fantasy leagues where he’s available.

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.

Jeff Hoffman started the bottom of the ninth with a three-run lead for the save chance. He struck out the leadoff man, then allowed a base hit and hit two batters to load the bases. A base hit brought a run in for the Angels before Hoffman was replaced by Varland, who needed one pitch to induce a ground ball double play to end the game with his first save of the season. This comes one day after Hoffman struck out the side for a save. Still, Hoffman has struggled to get the job done in the ninth inning. Varland has been effective, with no runs allowed yet, and would be next in line if Hoffman’s struggles continue.

Hoffman has been awful to begin 2025, but this looked good. The 33-year-old did allow a hit, but he struck out the heart of the Angels’ order to procure his third save of the season while lowering his ERA to 6.97. The Blue Jays are showing faith in Hoffman, and for now, fantasy managers should reticently do the same.

Hoffman allowed three hits and a walk, and while he struck out two, it’s tough to get excited about a pair of punchouts in a game where you give up a salami in one inning. That grand slam came in a 2-2 game in the eighth inning by Corbin Carroll, and it sees his ERA inflate to an ugly 7.71. Hoffman had his issues in 2025 as well despite Toronto reaching the World Series, and while there’s no obvious answer behind him to close out games, this is a situation that has to be monitored.

Tuesday night saw a good amount of blown saves, and there were two in this game alone. Hoffman was handed a 6-4 lead, but it didn’t matter because he simply couldn’t throw strikes with three free passes. That’s already the third blown save of the season for the 33-year-old, and at some point,you have to wonder how long Toronto can put up with this. Fantasy managers should be prepared for a potential change in the coming weeks, if not sooner.

Hoffman had to face the top of the Dodgers order today. He struck out Shohei Ohtani before Kyle Tucker singled and Will Smith walked. He then got Freddie Freeman to chase strike three and induced an easy groundout from Max Muncy to end the game. Hoffman is just 2-for-4 saving games, but he has a 15/2 K/BB (with the only previous walk being intentional) in 6 2/3 innings.

Hoffman retired the first two batters before Derek Hill dropped down a bunt that tied the game after Tyler Heineman, who had just replaced Alejandro Kirk, made an errant throw to first. Hill wound up on second on what was ruled a single. Tristan Peters followed with a clean single to end it. It’s Hoffman’s second blown save, but this won’t be held against him. He’s allowed one earned run and posted an 11/0 K/BB in 4 2/3 innings to open the season.

Hoffman came in to pitch in a 5-1 game, so no save. He allowed a hit, but he was able to keep the runner at bay while also adding a strikeout. Hoffman has allowed one run over his first three appearances with one save thus far.