The Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen has been the centre of many conversations about the team’s disappointing start to 2026. There’s certainly been a lot to talk about, with the bullpen having to carry a significant load for the Blue Jays due to several injuries to the starting rotation.

The Blue Jays’ bullpen has thrown nearly half the innings for the Blue Jays in 2026. While there’s only been one dedicated bullpen game, there have been six games where the bullpen pitched for at least two-thirds of the game.

On top of having several starting pitchers on the IL, the healthy starters haven’t been pitching deep into games. Max Scherzer has only made it through the first three innings twice in his five starts. Eric Lauer had an illness that caused him to last only two innings in his start against the Chicago White Sox at the beginning of April. Cody Ponce sprained his ACL after pitching just 2 1/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies. That has put a lot of strain on the bullpen to get the Blue Jays through this difficult stretch of the season.

The Blue Jays made a significant change to their bullpen construction on Friday when they announced that Jeff Hoffman would no longer be the team’s closer. Instead, the Blue Jays will operate with a closer by committee. This was a necessary change after Hoffman struggled to start the season. He had blown three saves in six attempts and racked up a 7.59 ERA in 12 appearances.

Hoffman’s role as the Blue Jays closer was already contentious coming into the season. In 2025, he was fourth in the league with saves (33), but also led the league in home runs given up in the ninth inning (13). For most of the 2025 postseason, he was exceptional. He gave up two runs on six hits, while striking out 18. Unfortunately for Hoffman, one of those runs was a game-tying home run to Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the World Series.

There’s no doubt that Hoffman has the stuff to be an effective reliever for the Blue Jays. He’s in the 99th percentile for chase percentage and 100th percentile for whiff rate and strikeout rate. However, he struggles to get through innings cleanly and has been struggling more recently with digging himself out of the holes he finds himself in.

It’s impossible to understate how challenging it would be for Hoffman to recover from Game 7. To be lights out all the way through the playoffs until the moment it matters most is the kind of thing that would weigh on any player for a long time. The decision to take Hoffman out of the closer role will allow him to work through his struggles in lower-leverage situations, giving him a chance to rebuild his confidence.

In his first appearance since being removed from the closer role, Hoffman handled himself well. He came in for the eighth inning against the Guardians. Hoffman walked one and struck out one, but escaped the inning with no damage done.

Within the new closer committee, Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers seem like the most likely candidates to come in for the Blue Jays in a save situation.

Varland picked up his first career save in a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels that earned the Blue Jays their second series win of the season. Varland entered the game with bases loaded and one out after yet another outing for Hoffman. With one pitch, Varland forced the Angels into a double play. That seemed to seal the deal on Hoffman being out as the Blue Jays closer.

The Minnesota product picked up his second career save on Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians, though that one took a little more effort. He gave up an RBI double to Kyle Manzardo, which was the earned run he’d given up in 2026. Varland then loaded the bases before striking out the final two batters to escape the jam and give the Blue Jays a 5-3 win. It wasn’t easy, but he got it done. He had a much easier time on Sunday against the Guardians, collecting his third career save and handing the Blue Jays their second consecutive series win.

While Varland would be a great option for the Blue Jays as a full-time closer, he has too much value as a high-leverage arm to pigeonhole him into the closer role. Varland has the second-highest fWAR (0.8) among relievers in MLB in 2026, only behind Mason Miller (1.0). There’s a lot of value in the Blue Jays having him available at whatever point in the game he’s most needed.

Another option the Blue Jays may turn to in the ninth is Rogers. Rogers has been a bright spot for the Blue Jays during their difficult start to 2026. Like Varland, Rogers has only given up one run in 13 appearances with the Blue Jays. While he gives up a lot of soft contact, he’s never allowed more than seven home runs over the course of a season.

The biggest reasons why Rogers would not be used as the sole closer, but as a part of the committee, are his unique arm angle and his pursuit of history. Rogers has the lowest release angle in MLB, while starter Trey Yesavage has the highest. With Yesavage set to return from injury, the Blue Jays have the opportunity to throw off opponents by bringing in Rogers after Yesavage. The other reason Rogers likely doesn’t want to be a full-time closer is that he would like to be MLB’s all-time holds leader. As it stands, he has 159 career holds, 87 behind the current leader, Tony Watson (246).

Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty have both had solid starts to their sophomore seasons. Fisher has the third-best ERA among Blue Jays relievers (1.76), only behind Varland (0.64) and Rogers (0.66). Fluharty has the second-highest strikeout rate in the bullpen (41.7%), only behind Hoffman (42.1%). It will be interesting to see if either of them gets the nod in a save situation now that the closer role is by committee.

The bullpen will get reinforcements. With Yesavage returning from injury, Lauer has been moved into the bullpen. Lauer had made it clear he wanted to be a starter this year, but didn’t make the best of his opportunity with all the injuries. In his defence, he dealt with an illness that affected him in his start against the White Sox. However, he had a 1-3 record with a 6.75 ERA in five appearances.

While Lauer may not want to be a reliever, he thrived in that role towards the end of 2025. He had a 1.76 ERA out of the bullpen in 2025 compared to a 3.77 ERA as a starter. He’ll be a valuable long reliever for the Blue Jays, which will be important as Yesavage returns and with the Blue Jays not having an off-day until May 7.

The Blue Jays could also get Yimi Garcia back in the near future. Garcia has been throwing live bullpen sessions. While he doesn’t currently have a rehab session scheduled and was recently placed on the 60-day IL, he seems to be making progress towards a return to the Blue Jays.

The bullpen has had its ups and downs to start the season. That isn’t surprising given the extra workload they’ve had to cover. As the Blue Jays start to get some of their starters back, that will relieve pressure from the bullpen, which should help them develop more consistency.

Off The Roster is Toronto sports. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, this is the go-to morning conversation for everything happening in the 6ix – Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and everything in between. From breakout performances and questionable trades to throwback jerseys, viral moments, and the stories fans are actually talking about—it’s smart, sharp, and never scripted. Live weekday mornings on the Nation Network YouTube channel and available wherever you stream podcasts, the show delivers real opinions, real chemistry, and real Toronto energy. Missed an episode? Catch up anytime. Off The Roster—The new sound of the 6ix.