Jeff Hoffman was one of the Toronto Blue Jays’ signature offseason acquisitions. And for the last few weeks, he’s been one of their most visible problems.
Hoffman got off to a great start to the season, then abruptly started getitng shelled. He had a 1.10 ERA through his first 14 appearances, and now owns a 16.79 mark in his last nine, even after a scoreless outing on Monday night.
No one would have expected Hoffman to own a 5.79 ERA two months into a $33 million contract. But both the righty and his manager seem to believe that nothing is wrong.
Before the Blue Jays’ most recent game against the Texas Rangers, Toronto manager John Schneider addressed Hoffman’s struggles, saying that the team still believes in the 2024 All-Star to be its closer.
“Just in talking with him, he’s in a good spot,” Schneider said, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. “I think that, you know, the life of a reliever and a high-leverage reliever is bumpy.”
Bannon also pointed out a wealth of statistical evidence that backs Schneider’s theory that Hoffman will be just fine.
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“Hoffman is striking out a career-high 13.7 batters per nine and allowing walks at a nearly identical rate to 2024. The issue is an inflated homer total, allowing five long balls in his first 22.1 innings. Everything suggests that will change,” Bannon wrote.
“Nearly 30 percent of Hoffman’s fly balls have left the ballpark. In the past three years, his rate of home runs per fly ball was 6.8 percent, and the league average rests at 8.5 percent. There’s a lot of room for normalization there.”
The 26-27 Blue Jays could certainly use a few more saves nailed down, so Hoffman regressing to the mean would be a very positive thing, assuming it happens relatively soon.
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