Blue Jays Jeff Hoffman Disappointed After Yet Another Late-Game Meltdown
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The Toronto Blue Jays have a major issue brewing with their bullpen heading into the final stretch of the season.
They received some brutal news recently with the status of one of their key relievers, Yimi Garcia. He won’t be returning to the mound, dealing with an elbow injury that required season-ending surgery. Signed to a two-year, $15 million deal this past winter, he is a massive loss.
Earlier in the season, he was operating as one of the team’s main setup men in front of closer Jeff Hoffman. Things were rolling with every player settling into a role and excelling. Alas, that has not been the case since Garcia has went down.
Manager John Schneider has been trying to find the right late-game mix to keep things in order. But, the bullpen’s performance in August has been troubling. Entering play on Aug. 30, they had a 4.50 ERA and things only got worse.
Hoffman had yet another meltdown, which is a huge cause for concern. He has blown the game in three out of his last four outings and his August ERA is on the rise. Against the Milwaukee Brewers, he gave up three earned runs in only 0.2 innings, taking his sixth loss of the season.
Jeff Hoffman's Recent Performance Is Major Concern For Blue Jays
Jackson Chourio, who was robbed of a home run in the top of the first inning by center fielder Myles Straw, made sure this one couldn’t be caught. He started the inning with a solo home run to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Christian Yelich went back-to-back with home, launching a long ball of his own.
After Hoffman got William Contreras to ground out, he walked Sal Frelick. Andrew Vaughn grounded out before a double was allowed to Isaac Collins to knock in Frelick. Yariel Rodriguez was called upon to stop the bleeding, striking out Caleb Durbin to mercifully end the inning.
The Blue Jays went quietly in the bottom of the ninth inning, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk going down 1-2-3. It certainly was far from ideal for the team to go down easily, but there isn’t concerns with the lineup. Right now, all the concerns for Toronto are on the mound with their bullpen.
Finding out how to get Hoffman back on track and performing as he did earlier in the year is the No. 1 priority. After the game, all he could do was express disappointment in how he performed. But, his confidence isn’t wavering in himself.
Jeff Hoffman spoke with us and said that he’s disappointed, but confident he can adjust and bounce back again:
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) August 30, 2025
"We’ve got a lot of guys who are trying really hard in there. You don’t want to be the guy that ruins it for everybody for the night. Tomorrow’s a new day.” #BlueJays
"We’ve got a lot of guys who are trying really hard in there. You don’t want to be the guy that ruins it for everybody for the night. Tomorrow’s a new day,” Hoffman said, via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com on X.
His teammates, such as starting pitcher Chris Bassitt, still believe that Hoffman can get the job done as well. He just has to keep working at it and figure out what is leading to the disappointing outings. Home runs are his biggest culprit, now up to 14 on the year in only 56.1 innings pitched. Once he can get that under control, he can start dominating again.
