Blue Jays Star Reliever Back on Track After Back-to-Back Strong Outings

The Toronto Blue Jays closer is back to being elite after a small bump in the road had many doubting his abilities.

May 10, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays have failed to find consistent success in many areas of the game to this point in the season, and the bullpen has been no different.

The unit enters play Sunday with a 4.06 ERA, ranking 17th in MLB, and it would be far worse if it were not for closer Jeff Hoffman.

Hoffman, 32, experienced a career renaissance in his two years with the Philadelphia Phillies, and it led to a three-year, $33 million contract with the Blue Jays in free agency over the winter. Through his first 14 appearances of the 2025 campaign, Hoffman proved to be worth every penny and then some, but two rough outings later, many doubted his abilities.

Now, after two elite outings on back-to-back nights, Hoffman has proved once again that he is one of the preeminent closers in the game today.

Jeff Hoffman Is Still Elite Despite Two Rough Outings

Hoffman entered Toronto's series with the Los Angeles Angels with a 1.10 ERA across 16 1/3 innings in 14 games with seven saves and 23 strikeouts. His next two outings would not go as well.

Finishing just 2/3 of an inning across two appearances, the righty allowed six runs, all earned, on six hits with one walk and only struck out one. It saw his ERA for the year balloon to 4.24, and earned the pitcher his first blown save of the year.

Many began to doubt Hoffman's abilities, completely discrediting what he had done across his first 14 appearances and 16 1/3 innings for the much smaller sample of two appearances and 2/3 of an inning. The righty quickly proved the doubters wrong.

Hoffman was brought in to close the door against the Seattle Mariners on both Friday and Saturday night. He did much more than that, striking out the side in each appearance, while only facing seven batters total, and allowing none to score. The hard-throwing righty proved once again that he is an elite closer.

Hoffman's ERA on the year now sits at 3.79, and he holds nine saves to only one blown save. He has struck out 30 batters in 19 innings and has finished a Major League-leading 16 contests.

It is the early makings of another fantastic year for Hoffman, and he continues to be one of the few bright spots in the Blue Jays' bullpen.