Blue Jays’ John Schneider Sends 4-Word Jeff Hoffman Message After Brutal Diamondbacks Loss

The Toronto Blue Jays dropped their series versus the Arizona Diamondbacks with a loss on Saturday, marking the team’s sixth consecutive series loss in the early season.

And while the Blue Jays can remain optimistic about a turnaround and even a trip back to the World Series, it seems like a significant bullpen change might be in order soon.

“Jeff Hoffman surrendered a grand slam in the eighth inning of Saturday’s 6-2 loss, which is all Blue Jays fans will be talking about this weekend,” Keegan Matheson wrote for MLB.com. “The Blue Jays had every opportunity to win this one late, but Hoffman’s inning blew up the back end of the game. This comes after he blew a save last time out when he walked three batters.”

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In his first season with the Blue Jays last year, Hoffman endured an up-and-down campaign that included giving up a lead to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series. And so far, his second season hasn’t been much better.

Hoffman has a 7.71 ERA, with 13 hits allowed and 20 strikeouts in less than 10 innings so far. But while Saturday’s brutal outing might serve as the final straw for some Blue Jays fans, the team appears to be sticking with him in the closer’s role.

“I have a lot of confidence in Jeff Hoffman,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after the game, per The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon. “I feel for him right now because he’s going through it. I get it; when you’re in that spot, it gets magnified, and that’s part of it. He’s man enough to handle it.”

Regarding the specific role of closing out games, the skipper added a clear, four-word summary of how he views the beleaguered pitcher amid his struggles.

“I’ll take Jeff Hoffman,” Schneider added.

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Hoffman took ownership of the team’s loss on Saturday and he told reporters that he feels healthy and plans to work on his command. In the meantime, a prominent teammate joined the manager in offering his public support.

“We all believe in him,” future Hall of Fame starter Max Scherzer told reporters, according to Bannon. “We all love him. We all believe he’s going to figure it out and get big outs for us. That’s never going to change.”

But as the Blue Jays look to turn a losing season around before it’s too late, Hoffman will have to improve if they are to avoid making that change for much longer.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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