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By Drew VonScio
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Toronto Blue Jays aren't hiding that Bo Bichette is their top priority this offseason. While the team doesn't know which position he will play next year, it has made it abundantly clear it wants him back.
Now, the Blue Jays could be in pursuit of a high-end pitcher in the closer market after general manager Ross Atkins' recent comments on closer Jeff Hoffman. Hoffman recorded a 4.37 ERA and 33 saves this past season in Toronto, but his role could look different next year.
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"The great thing about Jeff (Hoffman) is that he’s not married to that (closing)," Atkins told MLB.com reporter Keegan Matheson. "Talking about that cohesion and the team approach, he epitomizes it. I think he would be open to anything that makes us better."
If Hoffman is truly OK with not being the closer, then by all means the Blue Jays should pursue another high-leverage arm. Moving Hoffman to a set-up role could even help his numbers after taking some pressure off of him while still getting the occasional opportunity to close if the acquisition is hurt or is unavailable on any given day.
There are a handful of options the Blue Jays could turn to sign as their closer depending upon how much they want to spend on the area. Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez are the best of the bunch, but they will cost the most as well. It's unknown if Toronto is willing to spend at least $70 million on one reliever, or if it would prefer to allocate the funds differently.
Beyond those two, the options become a group of Raisel Iglesias, Pete Fairbanks, Ryan Helsley and Devin Williams. The latter two experienced consistency issues for at least a portion of the season (or all of it for Williams). Fairbanks would make a lot of sense for the Blue Jays as he is very familiar with pitching in the American League East.
With the ability to add another quality reliever, Atkins and the Blue Jays need to act on it if they want to try and get over the hump to win a World Series title.
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