Earlier this week, the United States team at the World Baseball Classic came calling for Toronto Blue Jays reliever Tyler Rogers.
Now, the Americans have called on the Blue Jays again, this time summoning closer Jeff Hoffman for the semifinal round against the Dominican Republic on Saturday (8 p.m. ET).
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Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reports that Hoffman is taking the place of future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who has likely played his last competitive baseball game.
The Americans have gone 4-1 through the tournament, though they’ve looked tense and out of sorts at times. The Dominicans are 5-0 and look like the tournament favorites. Perhaps Hoffman can help hold down the lineup, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., if he gets the chance.
Now 33 years old, Hoffman is a 10-year veteran of the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Blue Jays. Originally drafted by Toronto, he was dealt to Colorado in the Troy Tulowitzki deal from 2015.
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Initially a starter, Hoffman became more of a reliever in the COVID 2020 season. He still started 11 games for the 2021 Reds, but he’s blossomed into an excellent reliever since then.
He made 54 appearances for the 2023 Phillies and 68 for the 2024 Phillies before joining the Blue Jays in 2025. He was 9-7 with a 4.37 ERA, registering 33 saves. He struck out 84 batters in 68.0 innings.
He’ll pair with Rogers and Louis Varland to make up a formidable back-end of the Toronto bullpen.
Speaking of solid…. Hoffman will be battling with Rogers, Mason Miller and David Bednar for late-game opportunities. The Americans are going to start Paul Skenes against the powerhouse DR lineup.
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–With Japan’s exit from the tournament, Kazuma Okamoto is set to return to camp. Japan won the event in 2023 but was beaten by Venezuela in the quarterfinals on Saturday. Speaking of Venezuela, Jays’ infielder Andres Gimenez has advanced to the semifinals with the group. They’ll play Italy on Monday night.
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–With just 12 days remaining until Opening Day, we explored three questions facing Toronto, who enters the season as one of the American League favorites.
–Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez retired earlier this offseason, ending his longstanding position in the Jays broadcast booth. While Toronto hasn’t officially come out and named his replacement, the Toronto Sun reportedly has information as to how the booth will look alongside Dan Shulman this year.
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