Jeff Hoffman is struggling, but John Schneider would be making a mistake if the Blue Jays treated that slump like a reason to move him.
That idea is already out there. Sporting News, citing Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller, floated Hoffman as Toronto's most likely trade chip, with Louis Varland already looking capable of handling the ninth inning.
On the surface, the case is easy to see. Hoffman has a 6.14 ERA in 16 games, and Varland has been cleaner, posting a 0.53 ERA with 4 saves in 17 innings.
But that is exactly why this would be the wrong time to sell. When a reliever's surface numbers are loud and ugly in early May, teams know they are buying low. Toronto would be the club absorbing the damage, not the one gaining value.
There is also a bigger bullpen issue here. The Blue Jays are 16-20 and already dealing with pitching instability around the roster, which is a poor time to subtract a proven late-game arm just because another reliever has gotten hot.
Hoffman's underlying profile still gives Toronto a reason to hold. Baseball Savant shows a 3.20 expected ERA, a .209 expected batting average against, and percentile rankings near the top of the league in strikeout rate, whiff rate, and chase rate.
Toronto would be selling low on a proven arm
That matters because Hoffman is not some fringe bullpen piece hanging on by a thread. Just last season, he was one of Toronto's most trusted relievers, finishing with 33 saves and a 1.46 postseason ERA over 12 1/3 innings.
Schneider's trust in him has never been subtle. MLB.com quoted the manager last year saying his trust level in Hoffman was «probably a 300» on a scale of 1 to 10.
That sort of trust is hard to rebuild once it leaves the building. Varland can close, sure, but the Blue Jays were supposed to win with multiple leverage arms, not by swapping one for the other and hoping the rest sorts itself out.
There is a contract angle, too. Sporting News noted Hoffman is owed $11 million in both 2026 and 2027, which may tempt Toronto to clear money, but that is a weak reason to dump a reliever with this kind of track record.
If the Blue Jays trade him now, they risk watching another club clean up a few bad weeks and turn him back into a weapon by summer. That is the exact kind of move good teams spend years regretting.
Toronto does not need to pretend Hoffman has been sharp. It just needs to resist confusing a rough month with a lost pitcher. Right now, keeping Jeff Hoffman looks a lot smarter than moving him.
Would trading Jeff Hoffman be a mistake for the Blue Jays?
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