Blue Jays' Jeff Hoffman: Closer job not guaranteed in 2026
Rotowire
General manager Ross Atkins said Thursday that the Blue Jays aren't committed to using Hoffman as their primary closer in 2026, Rob Longley of The Toronto Sun reports.
Although he finished 2025 with a career-high 33 saves, Hoffman's first year in Toronto was met with struggles. He posted a 4.37 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 68 innings during the regular season and, most notably, blew a save during Game 7 of the World Series. Atkins brought up Yimi Garcia (elbow) and Louis Varland as potential options to work the ninth inning next season instead of Hoffman and didn't rule out the possibility of acquiring someone in the offseason to fill the role.
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Blue Jays' Robinson Pina: Activated, then outrighted
Rotowire
The Blue Jays activated Pina (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Thursday and outrighted him to Triple-A Buffalo.
Pina was recalled and immediately placed on the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain in September as a means to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. The righty did not require surgery and could be ready for spring training, but it would now be as a non-roster invitee.
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Blue Jays' Brandon Valenzuela: Added to 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Blue Jays selected Valenzuela's contract from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.
Valenzuela is now protected from next month's Rule 5 Draft. Acquired at the trade deadline from the Padres in exchange for Will Wagner, Valenzuela slashed .224/.309/.383 with 15 home runs over 113 games between the Double- and Triple-A levels in 2025. The 25-year-old will likely begin the 2026 campaign back at Buffalo.
Bieber exercised his $16 million player option for 2026 on Tuesday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
After falling just one game short of capturing his first World Series title, Bieber will opt into another year with the Blue Jays and receive a $6 million raise in the process. The 30-year-old right-hander missed the first several months of the 2025 season while working his way back from Tommy John surgery but returned in time to make seven regular-season starts and post a 3.57 ERA across 40.1 innings. It remains to be seen how his surgically repaired elbow will hold up over the course of a full season, but the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner is still deserving of fantasy attention heading into 2026.
Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Belts big World Series homer
Rotowire
Bichette went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk against the Dodgers on Saturday in an extra-innings loss in Game 7 of the World Series.
Bichette put the Blue Jays on the board with a three-run home run off Shohei Ohtani in the third inning. For much of the game it looked like that would be the knockout blow en route to a Toronto championship, but Los Angeles staged a late comeback and ultimately pulled off the victory in 11 innings. Bichette missed seven weeks coming into the World Series due to a knee injury, but he was included on the World Series roster and started six of the seven games. He didn't show any rust, batting .348 with the home run, six RBI, two runs and four walks over 27 plate appearances.
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Blue Jays' Jeff Hoffman: Blows save in Game 7
Rotowire
Hoffman blew a save against the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday, allowing one run on one hit while striking out two batters over 1.1 innings.
Hoffman entered in the eighth frame with the Blue Jays up 4-3. He got Tommy Edman to ground out to preserve the lead and then struck out the first batter he faced in the ninth, but Hoffman then served up a game-tying solo homer to Miguel Rojas. Over three World Series appearances, that long ball was the only run Hoffman yielded across 4.1 frames.
Blue Jays' Max Scherzer: Puts forth strong effort in Game 7
Rotowire
Scherzer logged a no-decision in Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three batters over 4.1 innings.
Scherzer got the start and was able to give Toronto 4.1 innings and 54 pitches (34 strikes). He retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before fading a bit in the fourth, when the Dodgers touched him up for a run on a double, a single, a walk and a sacrifice fly. Scherzer retired the first batter he faced in the fifth but was pulled after allowing a Miguel Rojas single. Overall, it was a noble effort by the 41-year-old hurler, who departed with his team holding a 3-1 lead. Over two World Series starts, he allowed four runs while posting a 6:1 K:BB across 8.2 frames.
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