The Toronto Blue Jays are one of the more surprising stories in baseball this season. While they came into the season with World Series hopes, they’ve exceeded these expectations by leading the American League East late in the season, pushing for a potential first-round bye in the postseason.
They used the trade deadline to improve the roster in a big way, too.
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter recently shared some high praise for Blue Jays trade deadline addition Louis Varland. Varland was acquired from the Minnesota Twins in an under-the-radar move a few weeks ago.
“With a fastball that averages 98.1 mph and a nasty knuckle curve that is carrying a whiff rate just under 40 percent, Varland has the stuff to make an impact in the late innings, and he likely would have slid into the closer’s role in Minnesota after Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax were traded if [he] were not also sent packing,” Reuter wrote. “Instead, he joins fellow newcomer Seranthony Domínguez and incumbents Brendon Little, Yariel Rodríguez and Jeff Hoffman to give the Blue Jays a potentially dominant late-inning contingent.”
Varland was one of the more under-the-radar moves at the trade deadline because he was seldom talked about as a potential trade chip.
In 49 innings with the Twins, the righty held a 2.02 ERA with an impressive 1.10 WHIP and 212 ERA+. Since joining the Blue Jays, he’s tossed three innings and surrendered one run on two hits and a walk.
The biggest bonus with Varland is his contract. He’s still in the pre-arbitration phase of his deal and doesn’t hit arbitration until 2027. The righty won’t land in free agency until 2031, giving the Blue Jays a lot of time with him in the bullpen.
This looks to be one of the better pickups of the summer.
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