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• Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Will remain in bullpen

  13D ago • By RotoWire

  Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said Monday that Varland will remain in a bullpen role in 2026, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports. Varland excelled in a full-time move to a relief role in 2025, posting a 2.97 ERA and 75:22 K:BB over 72.2 regular-season innings between the Blue Jays and Twins. The 28-year-old has a career 5.18 ERA over 23 starts at the major-league level, and it does not appear the Blue Jays have interest in giving Varland another chance to start anytime soon. He's likely to begin the 2026 campaign in a setup role.

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• Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Kicking off bullpen day in Game 4

  10/08/2025 • By RotoWire

  Varland is slated to serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher Wednesday for Game 4 of the ALDS versus the Yankees, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports. The Blue Jays are expected to rely on their bullpen to get through Wednesday's contest, and the team will officially turn to Varland to collect the first several outs. The 27-year-old turned in a 4.94 ERA and 1.39 WHIP over 23.2 frames in the regular season after joining Toronto at the trade deadline. He's pitched in each of the first three games of the series versus New York, yielding two earned runs on three hits while striking out three over 2.2 innings.

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• Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Starting bullpen game

  09/25/2025 • By RotoWire

  Varland will start Thursday's game against the Red Sox, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports. Varland has turned in a 5.66 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 20.2 innings since being traded to Toronto, and the Jays will now see how he fares in a new role. The 27-year-old righty began his career working primarily as a starter with the Twins, though he will likely only remain in Thursday's game for an inning or two before turning things over to the bullpen.

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• Blue Jays' Louis Varland: Acquired by Toronto

  07/31/2025 • By RotoWire

  The Blue Jays acquired Varland and Ty France from the Twins on Thursday in exchange for Alan Roden and Kendry Rojas, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports. Varland has worked as a full-time reliever this season for the first time in his professional career, and he's transitioned to the role flawlessly with a 2.02 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 47:13 K:BB across 49 innings. The right-hander should be in the high-leverage mix for Toronto but isn't likely to be a consistent candidate for saves.

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• Twins' Louis Varland: Likely to win bullpen role

  03/19/2025 • By RotoWire

  Varland is expected to make the Twins' major-league roster as a reliever, Matthew Leach of MLB.com reports. He's thrown nine scoreless innings with a 5:2 K:BB ratio this spring. Manager Rocco Baldelli hasn't confirmed the move to the bullpen in an attempt to keep his options open, but Varland hasn't been building up innings to work as a starter this spring. The right-hander struggled last season as a starter in Triple-A with a 4.75 ERA. As a reliever in the majors during 2023, he showed promise with a 1.50 ERA in 12 innings and a 17:1 K:BB. Varland could soon be in the high-leverage mix due to a fastball that can touch triple digits.

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