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Not a lot has gone right for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, who have been one of most-injured teams this season.
The Blue Jays only recently returned to .500 (29-29) after a 6-5 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, but fell back below .500 at 29-30 after a 6-5 loss against the Orioles on Saturday.
One thing that has gone right for Toronto this season has been the continued success of closer and right-handed pitcher Louis Varland.
Right-hander Jeff Hoffman entered this season as the team's assumptive closer, but his struggles led to Varland taking over primary closer duties, which he's excelled at.
Varland has a 0.29 ERA and has struck out 42 hitters in 31 innings pitched across 28 appearances this season, his fifth in the majors and first full year with the Blue Jays.
The 28-year-old is a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities and has five holds this year. He's holding opposing hitters to a .209 batting average and has a 1.03 WHIP.
The last earned run Varland allowed came over a month ago against the Cleveland Guardians on April 25. It was an RBI double hit by Kyle Manzardo in the top of the ninth. Varland was still able to earn the save in that outing despite allowing the earned run.
At his current pace, it seems almost a sure thing Varland will earn a spot in the All-Star Game, which takes place July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
However, Varland's season has created some chatter over whether or not he could receive some American League Cy Young consideration.
The last reliever to win the Cy Young award was Eric Gagne for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003. The closest reliever to earn the honor was former Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase, who finished third in American League Cy Young voting in 2024.
According to the opinion a former Toronto All-Star, Whit Merrifield, Cy Young consideration could be in the cards for Varland.
"Maybe," Merrified said on the 6ix Inning Stretch podcast. "(Two-time defending Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal's) hurt. It's kind of a 'meh' year for starting pitchers. It could be the year of the reliever. And if Louis has a sub 0.50 ERA and a bunch of saves and strikeouts and walks and WHIP is all what it needs to be, I don't see any reason that he couldn't at least be in consideration."
If Varland is able to maintain his current pace, he'll finish with better numbers than Clase had when he was a Cy Young finalist.
Whether Varland finds himself in contention for the top pitching award or not, this season has been an overall success considering how his first stint went with the Blue Jays.
Varland was acquired by Toronto in a trade with the Minnesota Twins on July 31, 2025. Varland finished last season with a 4.94 ERA and 28 fanned batters in 23.2 innings pitched across 23 appearances (one start) with the Blue Jays.
Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
The Blue Jays only recently returned to .500 (29-29) after a 6-5 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday, but fell back below .500 at 29-30 after a 6-5 loss against the Orioles on Saturday.
One thing that has gone right for Toronto this season has been the continued success of closer and right-handed pitcher Louis Varland.
Right-hander Jeff Hoffman entered this season as the team's assumptive closer, but his struggles led to Varland taking over primary closer duties, which he's excelled at.
Varland has a 0.29 ERA and has struck out 42 hitters in 31 innings pitched across 28 appearances this season, his fifth in the majors and first full year with the Blue Jays.
The 28-year-old is a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities and has five holds this year. He's holding opposing hitters to a .209 batting average and has a 1.03 WHIP.
The last earned run Varland allowed came over a month ago against the Cleveland Guardians on April 25. It was an RBI double hit by Kyle Manzardo in the top of the ninth. Varland was still able to earn the save in that outing despite allowing the earned run.
At his current pace, it seems almost a sure thing Varland will earn a spot in the All-Star Game, which takes place July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
However, Varland's season has created some chatter over whether or not he could receive some American League Cy Young consideration.
The last reliever to win the Cy Young award was Eric Gagne for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2003. The closest reliever to earn the honor was former Cleveland Guardians reliever Emmanuel Clase, who finished third in American League Cy Young voting in 2024.
According to the opinion a former Toronto All-Star, Whit Merrifield, Cy Young consideration could be in the cards for Varland.
"Maybe," Merrified said on the 6ix Inning Stretch podcast. "(Two-time defending Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal's) hurt. It's kind of a 'meh' year for starting pitchers. It could be the year of the reliever. And if Louis has a sub 0.50 ERA and a bunch of saves and strikeouts and walks and WHIP is all what it needs to be, I don't see any reason that he couldn't at least be in consideration."
If Varland is able to maintain his current pace, he'll finish with better numbers than Clase had when he was a Cy Young finalist.
Whether Varland finds himself in contention for the top pitching award or not, this season has been an overall success considering how his first stint went with the Blue Jays.
Varland was acquired by Toronto in a trade with the Minnesota Twins on July 31, 2025. Varland finished last season with a 4.94 ERA and 28 fanned batters in 23.2 innings pitched across 23 appearances (one start) with the Blue Jays.
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Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
