Steve Drumwright

While interleague play has knocked down a lot of the walls of a player being a better fit for one league over the other, sometimes a player just feels more comfortable in either the AL or NL. Could that be the case for Toronto Blue Jays right-handed reliever Jeff Hoffman? According to a report Saturday by Robert Murray of FanSided, the Chicago Cubs are among the teams interested in the Blue Jays' former closer. The Cubs entered Saturday as the top NL wild-card team. Hoffman finished an MLB-leading 59 games in 2025 with 33 saves, but did have issues down the stretch before becoming more reliable in the Jays' run to the World Series. But this year, those troubles persisted and he lost his role as the closer. He entered Saturday with a 2.46 FIP (4.02 ERA) in 50 appearances and 47 innings. Hoffman has a walk rate of 8.1% and a strikeout rate of 35.2%, both career bests. He has five saves in nine chances, but none since May 23. Hoffman is making $12.667 million this year and next year, but the Blue Jays are willing to move on from him with the team having never really been in contention this season and his erratic performance as a closer. He had success in a setup role in two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies as well as one of his two years with the Cincinnati Reds. He began his MLB career with the Colorado Rockies. View full rumor

With the Toronto Blue Jays in sell mode after a disappointing first four months of the season, the players on expiring contracts are more likely than not to be wearing another uniform next week. Center fielder Daulton Varsho is one of those and he is drawing a good bit of interest, but not necessarily for his bat, but for the tremendous defense he provides. Among the teams looking for a center fielder is the Philadelphia Phillies, who indeed have "interest" in Varsho, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman. The Phillies are 6½ games off Atlanta's NL East lead, while tie with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second (and third) NL wild card after Philadelphia was swept by the Miami Marlins. While the Phillies are in need of an offensive boost—they rank 22nd in team OPS at .703—Varsho would provide more experience in center field than rookie Justin Crawford with maybe a nudge in the power department. Varsho has a .247/.308/.383 slash line with seven homers and 26 RBIs in 96 games to Crawford's .257/.306/.339 with two homers and 23 RBIs in 99 games. Crawford does have more steals 13-9. There are other pieces the Phillies and Jays match. Right-handed starters Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber are free agents after the year, while the Jays could also spin off bullpen pieces such as right-handed closer Jeff Hoffman. View full rumor

Despite a first half filled with struggles, the defending AL champion Toronto Blue Jays will have two players starting in the All-Star Game. Two pitchers are going, too. With second baseman Ernie Clement having punched his ticket as the top vote-getter among AL players in the first round of voting, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was also voted in by the fans in results announced Saturday. Right-handed starter Dylan Cease and right-handed reliever Louis Varland were also named to the team. The All-Star Game is July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. While Guerrero is in for the sixth straight time, Clement, Cease and Varland are first-time All-Stars. Guerrero said he will sit out the game to rest his lower back, which has been hurting him. Jays manager John Schneider will manage the AL team. Clement, a Blue Jays fan favorite, entered Saturday with a slash line of .295/.319/.434 with seven homers and 29 RBIs. He leads the AL with 22 doubles. Guerrero has had a subpar first half with a slash line of .268/.349/.350 and just four homers and 35 RBIs. His career slash line is .287/.364/.484 and has hit at least 23 homers in the previous five seasons. Cease has a 2.79 ERA in 16 starts and 90⅓ innings with an 11% walk rate and career-best 36.7% strikeout rate. Varland, acquired at last year’s trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins and a key bullpen component as they made their World Series run, has a 0.96 ERA in 47 innings over 42 games. He has a 7.2% walk rate and career-best 35.9% strikeout rate. The nine starters for each team were determined by two rounds of fan balloting, with Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani and Clement getting automatically selected to start by virtue of leading the first round in the NL and AL, respectively. The 23 reserves, which includes 12 pitchers as that position is not up for voting, are selected by player voting and the Commissioner's Office, which ensures that each team has a representative in the game. View full rumor

The Toronto Blues are going to have to make do without George Springer for a few days. For a good reason. The Jays on Wednesday placed the designated hitter on the paternity list and called up outfielder Jonatan Clase from Triple-A Buffalo. Springer, who is slashing .221/.308/.373 this year, is allowed to be away from the team for up to three days for the birth of a child. Clase is up with the Jays for the first time this season. At Triple-A, the switch-hitter was slashing .223/.321/.359 with five homers, 23 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 53 games. He has appeared in 60 games with the Jays over the last two seasons with a .224/.294/.311 slash line, hitting three homers and driving in 14. View full rumor

The call-up of Sean Keys is official, but it comes at the same time as a key injury. The Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday selected the contract of Keys, a corner infielder, from Triple-A Buffalo so he can make his MLB debut. The Jays also called up outfielder Yohendrick Pinango from Buffalo, while placing outfielder Jesus Sanchez on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle and optioning outfielder Davis Schneider to Triple-A. Room on the 40-man roster for Keys was made Friday with right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson being designated for assignment. The news of Keys' promotion broke Friday. He has hit 21 homers this season between Double-A and Triple-A. Sanchez's injury is new, however. He left Friday's 5-4 loss to the Texas Rangers as he smacked into the wall while backtracking to catch a fly ball to end the seventh inning. Sanchez, acquired in the offseason in a trade with the Houston Astros, has been a key part of the Jays' offense and is slashing .274/.316/.437 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 73 games. Pinango is up with the Jays for the third time this season. He has a .283/.331/.433 slash line in 43 games, hitting four homers and driving in 18. Schneider is back in Buffalo for the second time this season. He was initially sent down to try and straighten out his lack of offense, but was needed back up due to an injury. Schneider has put up a .222/.241/.519 slash line with two homers and four RBIs in 11 games since returning, improving his overall numbers to .153/.282/.296 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 49 games. View full rumor

Despite not allowing a run, Simeon Woods Richardson's stay with the Toronto Blue Jays didn't last very long. The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Friday to make room for left-handed reliever Adam Macko. Woods Richardson, acquired June 3 from the Minnesota Twins for cash after being DFA'd, made three relief appearances for the Jays, throwing 10 scoreless innings while allowing four hits and seven walks with five strikeouts. The walks could have been a contributing factor to Woods Richardson being DFA'd by the Jays. With the Twins, Woods Richardson had a 6.17 FIP (7.74 ERA) in 10 starts and two relief appearances covering 47⅔ innings with an 11% walk rate and 11.5% strikeout rate. His walk rate with the Jays in the small sample size was 18.4%, with his strikeout rate up a bit to 13.2%. Macko gives the Jays a much-needed second left-hander in the bullpen next to Mason Fluharty. Macko is up for the second time this season after making his MLB debut in May. In 12 games, Macko has a 2.94 FIP (1.50 ERA) with a 4.2% walk rate and 25% strikeout rate over 12 innings. View full rumor

The Toronto Blue Jays are getting a power boost. Corner infielder Sean Keys, Jays Centre's No. 7 prospect, is reportedly being called up from Triple-A Buffalo to make his MLB debut. The move will be made before Saturday's game. Keys hit his 21st homer of the season Thursday for Buffalo. KEYS_VIDEO_0626.mp4 That followed a two-homer game Wednesday. Keys now has seven homers since being called up from Double-A New Hampshire on June 5. Between the two stops, Keys is slashing .284/.409/.619 with 54 RBIs and seven stolen bases in 67 games. At Buffalo, he has a .281/.403/.719 slash line with 20 RBIs in 18 games. Keys was the Jays' fourth-round draft choice in 2024 out of Bucknell. Moves to accommodate Keys on the 26- and 40-man rosters will need to be made, much less where he fits into the Jays' lineup. View full rumor