TORONTO -- The Blue Jays’ bullpen is going through it right now. It’s baseball’s great blanket term.
Some are tired, some are unlucky, some are just plain struggling. Whatever “it” is, the Blue Jays’ relievers are going through it this month. In a race for the American League East title and one of the top two spots in the AL -- which would give Toronto (77-56) a bye to the best-of-five AL Division Series -- these things tend to get magnified.
That’s part of the oath you sign as a closer. The hitter who goes 0-for-4 with a few strikeouts rarely gets the headline, but when Jeff Hoffman stumbles, it’s right there in the brightest light for all to see. It happened again Tuesday night when Hoffman allowed two home runs in the ninth inning to the Twins, which quickly turned a 4-3 win into a 7-5 loss and cheers into boos at Rogers Centre.
“It was one of those nights for Jeff, but for him and with everyone, it comes down to executing,” manager John Schneider said.
“These guys all have good stuff and they’ve been really good for us all year, but there’s a couple of them going through it a little bit. When it comes to him, but everyone, it comes down to putting the ball where you want to. I think that both homers were kind of right in the middle of the zone.”
Hoffman now owns a 4.77 ERA, but he sure doesn’t look like a 4.77 ERA pitcher every time out, which is what has made this so difficult to wrangle throughout the season. Many days, he looks like one of the most dominant closers in the game. Other days, home runs happen.
The Blue Jays’ closer had nine consecutive scoreless outings before yielding a run Saturday, so let’s not paint this as a “recent skid.” This is more about blips on the radar.
April was brilliant (1.35 ERA). May was tough (13.50). June was great (1.80). July had a blip (4.50). Since then, Hoffman had been cruising through August until Tuesday night. He has now allowed 12 home runs, which hadn’t been a problem for him over the past couple of seasons as he emerged in this relief role.
Hoffman’s 1.98 HR/9 allowed is the second most among pitchers who have thrown at least 45 innings in relief this year (133 total), behind only the Nationals’ Jackson Rutledge (2.10).
The Blue Jays are standing behind their guy, though. Besides, plenty of relievers have been going through it; Hoffman just pitches on the biggest stage.
“I don’t think much of it. His numbers, I know, aren’t where they need to be, but I think he’s the same guy that pretty much carried us for two straight months,” said starter Chris Bassitt. “Then, yes, he had a couple bad ones, but overall, I trust him more than anyone. It goes back to the whole trust thing. You’re allowed to have bad ones, especially when we rely on you as much as we do. I trust him to close every game.”
Schneider compared the closer’s job to his own. When things go wrong, a lot of attention falls on one person, sometimes rightfully so. Walks have been a problem for this bullpen as a whole, though, and even after reinforcing the group at the Trade Deadline, some of these struggles have continued.
Toronto’s bullpen owns a 4.76 ERA in August, and its 15.0 BB% is the worst in baseball. If you reach a few days back into the end of July to the Blue Jays’ final road trip against the Tigers and Orioles, that ERA only grows.
“Every time I bring a guy in, I’m expecting them to just be who they are,” Schneider said. “Sometimes, it’s not that. You’ve got to deal with it and you’ve got to move on. The worst thing you can do is sit on it and sulk about it. This group has been so good about turning the page to tomorrow, and you’ve got to do that.”
This bullpen has been a legitimate strength for the Blue Jays, but they’ve been forced to dance around some challenges. Louis Varland hasn’t found his groove yet. Brendon Little has been unpredictable. Chad Green is gone. Erik Swanson is gone. It doesn’t sound like Yimi García is close to throwing a baseball.
Hoffman’s seven blown saves stand out, but he has cashed in 28 of them. He’s still the pitcher who wasn’t just closing games in April, he was winning them singlehandedly.
This group is going through it together right now. Soon, it will need to get out of it together, whatever “it” means to everyone involved.