The Toronto Blue Jays are shifting to a closer-by-committee approach following the recent struggles of reliever Jeff Hoffman, as confirmed by general manager Ross Atkins before Friday's game against the Cleveland Guardians.
Struggles Lead to Change
Hoffman has encountered significant difficulties this season, recording three blown saves—tied for the league lead entering Friday—along with two losses. In seven save opportunities, the right-hander converted only two. Over 10.2 innings pitched, he has 24 strikeouts but carries a bloated ERA of 7.59.
Atkins stated, "We just think it's best for us and for him at this point. In the short term, we are going to share that responsibility. He's still going to be getting very important outs for us and we very much believe in him as a weapon for us."
Analyzing Hoffman's Performance
When asked about the root of Hoffman's struggles, Atkins admitted difficulty in pinpointing the exact issue. "If we could pinpoint that and say exactly what it was, it might be happening," he said. "I think if he stays aggressive, that he's going to continue to have good outcomes. The swing and miss, I've mentioned. He's had some things not go his way, but he's also put some men on base that hurts him … the walks and hit by pitches. But believe in his turnaround coming."
Atkins acknowledged the mental aspect of the game, noting, "There's no sport played without mental components in them. So there's, for sure, a mental aspect in everything that these guys are doing."
New Closer Strategy
For the immediate future, the Blue Jays will rely on different pitchers for various scenarios, with Louis Varland emerging as an obvious candidate given his strong performance. Atkins emphasized that the team plans to put Hoffman in situations where he can contribute effectively as soon as possible.
"The increase in home runs was the one thing that we were looking to correct," Atkins said. "I immediately think that we need to be better as an organization in the deployment of his arsenal and how we're helping him, putting him in situations and be successful because of how good he has been and still is."
