Blue Jays move on from two players who symbolized their World Series disappointment

After coming painfully close to a World Series championship in 2025, the Toronto Blue Jays' front office began reshaping the roster by moving two players who had become easy targets for fan frustration: Jeff Hoffman and Daulton Varsho.

Calling either player a true reason the Blue Jays fell short isn't fair. There were many reasons the Blue Jays weren't able to defeat the LA Dodgers in last years Fall Classic. But Hoffman and Varsho became two of the major lightning rods for why fans felt their team didn't get the job done.

Hoffman gave up the game tying home run in the ninth inning to Miguel Rojas in Game 7. It was the only home run he allowed in the entire postseason. Varsho went 0-for-9 with 13 runners left on base in Games 6 and 7. But he also hit .438 with two home runs in their four game series win over the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

Now, both are gone. And the Blue Jays have continued to pick apart at the pieces of a roster that got them so close to winning it all just one year ago.

Jeff Hoffman-Daulton Varsho exits closes the book on a painful World Series memory

Hoffman’s time in Toronto was always going to be tied to whatever success the team had in October. The Blue Jays acquired him to help stabilize the back end of the bullpen and give manager John Schneider another high-leverage option after Canadian closer Jordan Romano faltered in during the 2024 season.

For most of the season he did exactly that. Hoffman had the stuff and mound presence to look like the kind of reliever contenders need. Although, his Achilles heel seemed to be giving up big home runs in big moments. He led the league in that category among qualified relievers. When the Blue Jays’ 2025 World Series run ended in heartbreak, his late-inning struggles became one of the easiest places for fans to point to in their discontent.

He also struggled coming out of the gate in 2026, giving up a home run on Opening Day in the top of the ninth inning to the Athletics, before the Blue Jays rallied in their half of the ninth to win that game. Hoffman had three blown saves and an ERA of 5.09, a FIP of 2.62 and had allowed 13 earned runs in 23 innings pitched by the end of May, when he was removed as the team's full-time closer.

He bounced back and from Jun. 4 to his final game with the Blue Jays on Aug. 1, Hoffman posted a 1.21 ERA, with a 2.34 FIP, 30 strikeouts and only one home run allowed with eight walks in 22.1 innings pitched in 23 games. That two month stretch allowed him to become a valuable commodity at the deadline and the Blue Jays moved him to Minnesota for a package of prospects.

Varsho’s case was different considering it wasn't just one moment that fans point to. However, the over arching results aren't any better. He was never a one-dimensional player. In Game 6 Varsho gounded into an inning-ending double play, struck out swinging with the tying run on base in the sixth, and grounded out with the tying run on base in the bottom of the eighth.

In Game 7, he flied out with men on first and second in the bottom of the second. He stranded a couple more runners during his at-bats in the third, fifth and seventh. In the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded, he hit a ground ball right at Rojas, who threw the ball home to beat Isiah Kiner-Falefa by half a step at the plate which kept the game tied.

His defense, athleticism and ability to impact games without the bat made him valuable even when the offensive production was uneven. But as time went on, and a shoulder injury seemed to impeded his throwing ability, that defensive value took a bit of a hit.

Meantime, Varsho’s offensive inconsistency had already made him a frequent target. This season, things didn't get better. After hitting 20 home runs in 100 games last year, Varsho managed just seven this season leading to a .375 slug and .682 OPS.

Again, that does not mean Varsho deserved to carry the brunt of a lost championship. The Blue Jays had several opportunities to change the series, but the public reaction can become unforgiving quickly when the expectations are so high.

The Blue Jays flipped Varsho to the Houston Astros to get starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti. The Astros are hoping Varsho can solidify their playoff chances while the Blue Jays are betting on Arrighetti to be a part of their rotation plans for the next few years.

Toronto was no longer in a position to make another serious October push, so moving veterans on expiring contracts became the goal at the deadline. Had both Varsho and Hoffman been able to replicate their production from a year ago, there may have been a chance for them to redeem themselves in the playoffs. Unfortunately, that won't happen in a Blue Jays' uniform.

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