Blue Jays fans can't deny this unorthodox John Schneider strategy has delivered positive results

Jeff Hoffman was expected to be the Toronto Blue Jays closer for the 2026 season, but the team later avoided adding another closer and instead relied on Tyler Rogers as the main bullpen upgrade. Hoffman’s early performance was poor, with a 7.56 ERA and 3.26 FIP across his first 12 games, including 11 runs allowed in 10.2 innings and a high .609 BABIP despite 24 strikeouts. On Apr. 24, Hoffman was removed from the closer role. The team shifted to a closer-by-committee plan, using Louis Varland for save situations and Tyler Rogers to close. In a 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins on May 27, Hoffman pitched the sixth and seventh, Varland handled the eighth, and Rogers shut down the ninth for his 20th career save.

"Coming into the 2026 season the Toronto Blue Jays had fully backed the idea of Jeff Hoffman being the closer. Even though there were early indications that picking up someone that could rival him for the job was on their "to-do" list in the offseason, they back tracked right before the season began, insisting that they never seriously looked for another closer on the market or via trade. The only real move to bolster the back end of the bullpen was picking up Tyler Rogers, the soft-throwing, ultra-submarine hurler."

"Over his first 12 games, Hofmann registered a 7.56 ERA and 3.26 FIP. He had allowed 11 runs (nine earned) while giving up 16 its in 10.2 innings. The most baffling part was that he had racked up 24 strikeouts over that same time frame, but also allowed a .609 BABIP. On Apr. 24 he was removed as the closer."

"Blue Jays manager John Schneider said they weren't going to have one designated closer and instead were going to move to a "closer by committee" scenario. The early part of that plan involved Louis Varland being used exclusively to save games, but over the last little while that plan really has taken on a committee persona. The latest example came during Wednesday's win (May 27) over the Miami Marlins in Toronto."

"The Blue Jays held on to a 2-1 win, using Hoffman in the sixth and seventh innings, with Varland taking over in the eighth and Rogers shutting things down in the ninth. It was the 20th save of Rogers' career, his first since 2024 when he registered one save as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Rogers has been elite as a set up man for basically the entirety of his career. He's lead the league four times in appearances (including 29 in 2020)."

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