MLB Insider Says Blue Jays' Season Hinges on Important Reliever

Spring training is rolling along, and soon enough, the Toronto Blue Jays will take the field, aiming to repeat the success of last season. They certainly have the roster to do so, filled to the brim with offensive talent and starting pitching.

Despite the talented team under manager John Schneider, components of the bullpen are still a mystery. With the surplus of starting pitchers, a traditional reliever could find themselves on the outside looking in.

Jeff Passan of espn.com labeled one bullpen arm with a lot of pressure to perform at a high level.

Passan Thinks Season Hinges on Jeff Hoffman

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jeff Hoffman throws a pitch. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Blue Jays will turn to Jeff Hoffman as their closer once again for the 2026 season. During the regular season, the 33-year-old appeared in a career-high 71 games, posting a 4.37 ERA. He recorded 33 saves in 40 opportunities.

His strong play carried over into the postseason, where he only allowed one run over 19 innings before Miguel Rojas' game-tying home run in Game 7 of the World Series. He'll be tasked to finish off games in 2026, but the pressure could be a lot higher for Hoffman.

Passan writes, "The bullpen, then, is Toronto's potential Achilles' heel--even with the addition of Tyler Rogers--and Hoffman playing security blanket instead of fire starter in the ninth inning is the sort of stabilizer needed in an AL East built to expose every little weakness that exists.

Can Hoffman Continue as a Consistent Closer?

This offseason was flooded with elite relievers as teams handed out a lot of money to ensure the backend of games was secured. However, Toronto kept its trust in Hoffman and instead acquired Rogers, a high-usage reliever with a unique arm angle.

As Passan mentioned earlier, the A.L. East will likely be a competitive division, and there isn't much room for error. Despite all the talent the Blue Jays possess, a lot of these games could depend on Hoffman's consistency in the ninth inning.

Toronto is working through some changes with Hoffman this spring, starting with his pitch usage. In an article from Shi Davidi of sportsnet.ca, he is working on scaling back his fastball usage and working in his slider and splitter more.

Ten of his 15 home runs allowed came on the fastball. Per Davidi, Hoffman said, "I think sometimes my aggressiveness in the zone can get me. Through the season, we realized what was happening and I started to try to take care of some of those pitches a little better...That was definitely part of my learning curve being a first-year closer full time...We'll be able to combat that this year and it won't happen again."

If Hoffman can make the necessary adjustments and improve from last year, the disappointment of not getting a proven closer this offseason will be wiped away. It'll be an important development to follow this season.