Blue Jays' Jeff Hoffman: Adapting well to setup duties

Hoffman struck out two in a perfect seventh inning Tuesday to record his third hold of the season in a win over the Red Sox.

Analysis:

The right-hander has collected holds in three straight appearances with a 4:1 K:BB in 2.1 innings over that span, although the first of those outings was the one that encouraged the Blue Jays to finally remove him from the closer role in favor of Louis Varland. A prolonged stretch of success for Hoffman could allow him to regain ninth-inning duties, but Varland isn't doing anything yet to suggest he's going to give the job back. Hoffman may simply be better equipped mentally for a setup role -- he thrived in that assignment with the Phillies in 2023-24 before signing with the Jays in free agency, racking up 32 holds with a 2.28 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 11.98 K/8 in those two seasons.