The Toronto Blue Jays have a decision to make\u2014and it\u2019s one they can\u2019t afford to drag out any longer. This closer situation isn\u2019t stabilizing. It\u2019s slipping.<\/p>\n
The Toronto Blue Jays have a decision to make\u2014and it\u2019s one they can\u2019t afford to drag out any longer.<\/p>\n
This closer situation isn\u2019t stabilizing. It\u2019s slipping.<\/p>\n
Jeff Hoffman has had his moments, but let\u2019s be clear: \u201cmoments\u201d aren\u2019t enough in the ninth inning of meaningful baseball games. The role of a closer isn\u2019t about flashes\u2014it\u2019s about certainty. It\u2019s about walking into the ninth with a lead and feeling like the game is effectively over. Right now, that confidence just isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s the problem.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re trying to compete in the American League East, where every game matters and every blown save can swing a playoff race, you can\u2019t treat the ninth inning like a tryout. The Blue Jays need definition. They need reliability. They need a stopper.<\/p>\n
So what are the options?<\/p>\n
Internally, Louis Varland is intriguing. There\u2019s power there. There\u2019s presence. And sometimes, that\u2019s exactly what the back end of a bullpen needs\u2014someone who attacks hitters, not someone trying to survive them. If the organization believes he can handle the role, then commit to it. Give him the ball and let him grow into the job.<\/p>\n
But if there\u2019s hesitation\u2014and there should be, given the stakes\u2014then it\u2019s time to look outside.<\/p>\n
Contending teams don\u2019t wait for problems to fix themselves. They solve them. Whether it\u2019s via trade or another acquisition, the front office has to recognize that the ninth inning is too important to gamble on. You don\u2019t patch that role\u2014you secure it.<\/p>\n
Because right now, every late lead feels a little uneasy. And in a division this tight, \u201ca little uneasy\u201d turns into losses that come back to haunt you in September.<\/p>\n
The Blue Jays don\u2019t need to panic\u2014but they do need to act.<\/p>\n
Move on from the uncertainty. Define the role. And make sure that when the ninth inning rolls around, the game is in the hands of someone built to finish it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Blue Jays have a decision to make\u2014and it\u2019s one they can\u2019t afford to drag out any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2378],"tags":[5,377,2554,4,282,70,2553],"class_list":{"0":"post-679870","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-blue-jays","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-blue-jays","10":"tag-bluejays","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-toronto","13":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","14":"tag-torontobluejays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116438114414095256","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=679870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}